Ski festival in a class of its own: Feller and Gstrein rock the night race in Schladming!

Ski festival in a class of its own: Feller and Gstrein rock the night race in Schladming!

On March 2, 2025, two exciting FIS giant slaloms for young alpine skiers took place in Rauris, Pinzgau. A total of 44 racers from twelve nations competed on the renowned “Ulli Meier race track”. With a superior running time in the first round and a confident performance in the second round, 20-year-old Amelie Gstrein from Matrei secured overall victory. Angelina Salzgeber from Vorarlberg came in second place, while Lara Fletzberger from Salzburg came third. Amelie Gstrein, who is now scratching the door into the top 200 of the women's giant slalom world rankings with a personal best of 26 FIS points, will compete in the upcoming races in Croatia on the Koralpe and in Rogla, Slovenia, as well as at Dolomite town reported.

Great successes for the ÖSV stars in Schladming

A week later, on March 5th, the ski stadium in Schladming experienced a truly spectacular night race. Manuel Feller and Fabio Gstrein caused enthusiasm among the spectators in the slalom and celebrated the first podium places for the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) this winter. The victory went to Norwegian Timon Haugan, who celebrated his third World Cup victory. Manuel Feller achieved an impressive second place, just 0.20 seconds behind the winner, celebrating his first podium finish of the season. Fabio Gstrein secured his first ever World Cup podium with a third place (+0.67 seconds), despite a few mistakes in the second round.

In an exciting race, half-time leader Linus Straßer from Germany fell back to fourth place. Johannes Strolz and Marco Schwarz, who also had to retire, caused unfortunate moments in the race. This legendary night race will not only be remembered, but will also set the stage for the upcoming home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm Laola1 reported.