This weekend, the alpine skiers met at three iconic venues: the ladies raced in one of the oldest Olympic winter venues, St. Moritz, which hosted the Olympic games in 1928 and 1948. At the same time, the meant challenged the classical Saslong speed races and the brutally steep Gran Risa race track in Alta Badia.
- Related post: Last Races Before Christmas – Tradition and Beauty
The Speed Queens Met in St. Moritz
The St. Moritz track was challenging and should have featured two super-g events, but the weather only permitted one. Like last speed weekend, Lara Gut Behrami (SUI) thought she did so well with her usual smooth and charming skiing that nobody would beat her. And once more, she was wrong. Sofia Goggia could not overcome her with her brave, if a little scrappy, run and only finished third in the final ranking. Still, Cornelia Hütter, Austria’s current overall downhill champion, performed better and won the race.
The race featured another memorable event. Lindsey Vonn, returning at 40 after a four-year break, racing with an artificial knee, had her comeback there. She went down the slope in perfect line, with a smooth style, using all her experience. However, she was slightly cautious, which is understandable and only reasonable. But although racing cautiously, she finished fourteenth, proving many of her critics wrong. We can only wait for what the future brings for Vonn; we can doubt her decision and call her reckless, but still, we cannot doubt her mental strength. She stood on the start, with half the skiing world expecting her to fail, and nailed it.
The Val Gardena Speed Races: The Local Hero’s Super-G Victory and Odermatts Desired Trophy
The organizers of the races in Val Gardena had to struggle against the weather. The temperatures were a little too high in the preceding days, making the snow soft and difficult to maintain. It was freezing on Friday during the Super-G, but snow was falling heavily all night. The course was still in perfect condition, but it was very soft. The local hero, Dominik Paris, complained about it bitterly; he desired to please his home crowd, but his hard and aggressive style did not suit such conditions. However, another local hero did please the crowd. Mattia Casse, who performed very well in both training runs, found the perfect blend of aggression and softness to his touch and raced to victory. Marco Odermatt (SUI) could not beat his time, as he was famed not to thrive in Val Gardena and only finished third. However, Jared Goldberg confirmed the renown Americans have on Saslong and finished only 0,01 seconds behind Casse to the finish with bib number 26.
The downhill enjoyed perfect weather and a significantly firmer snow surface. This time, the Italians did not fare any better, and the young Swiss Franjo Von Allmen performed superbly in the upper part of the track and the challenging technical Ciaslat section. We had been expecting big things from Franjo, as the Swiss team recently assigned him to the technician who cared for the great Beat Feuz’s skis. And Red Bull, a brand that only chooses the best and most exciting athletes to support, took him under their wings starting this season. So, Franjo finally fulfilled the expectations in Val Gardena. For a long time, it looked like he would carry his first victory home.
The first to come at least close, with a 0.46-second gap, was the American Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who loves Val Gardena.
And then, Marco Odermatt showed everybody that he could learn. The great Aksel Lund Svindal once said that Val Gardena is about experience, and for years, Marco Odermatt lacked just that. He was remarkable on every track except this one. And finally, he got it. He showed such skill in the technical Ciaslat section that nobody came even close to his performance in this part. Where everybody jumped and jerked, his skis never even left the ground.
Thus, with bib number 14, he got his desired trophy. However, young and older guys with higher bib numbers endangered his victory. The track was getting faster in the upper section, and the sun was melting it a little, so the split times of Brodie Seger (CAN) or Livio Hildebrand (SUI) and other later numbers shone green for a long time, making Odermatt watch in anticipation. But the Ciaslat is where the Saslong race is decided, and he ensured his victory there.
The Technical Races on Gran Risa: Electric Atmosphere and Fine Weather
Gran Risa is a brutally steep slope, and this year, it hosted both giant and slalom races. In the giant slalom, the crowd cheered on their local hero, Alex Vinazter, who is at home in Val Gardena, just one mountain away. During the second run, he gave a brave performance and sat in the red chair for a long time. But then an unexpected racer deposed him, the French Leo Anguenot, conquered the course’s upper and lower sections and made it to the red chair with ten racers to go. He watched them fail to topple him until Marco Odermatt, whose first run was far from persuasive, finished with a 0.85-second lead. Alexander Steen Olsen (NOR) made one big mistake and finished third. Filip Zubcic (CRO) failed to use his advantage from the first round and, with a fourth place, did not make it to the podium.
- Related post: Last Races Before Christmas – Tradition and Beauty
The slalom race occurred under a shining sun and pristine blue sky. Clement Noel returned to the World Cup, having healed his ankle, but maybe too soon, as he did not continue with his stunning results. Noel finished sixth. Henrik Kristoffersen finished fifth. However, this result allowed him to retain the red bib, proving that consistency is more critical in the battle over the Crystal Globe than collecting trophies. Loic Meillard finished second with a stellar second run, jumping six places. Third place belonged to Atle Lie McGrath, who also performs consistently. But gold goes to another Norwegian; Timon Haugan held his nerve, went as the last racer of the day, and confirmed his first place.
The racers can rest a little over the summer before returning to Bormio and Semmering on 28th December.
Let them rest, collect their strength, and wish for another thrilling weekend after the Christmas break.
