Kriechmayr and Babinsky: home World Cup in the departure team full of hope!

Kriechmayr and Babinsky: home World Cup in the departure team full of hope!

Gröden, Italien - The second and last departure training was held on the legendary Saslong before the big race in Val Gardena. James Crawford from Canada caused a sensation and set up a record with a time of 2,01.68 minutes. The 27-year-old not only positions himself as one of the strongest candidates for victory, but also underpins his shape after he has been on the podium of the World Cup four times. Crawford, who was always strong in the last departures in Val Gardena and each took fifth place, now shows that he is ready for the first victory in his career, as [saslong.org] emphasized.

But the competition is also not sleeping: Mattia Casse from Italy took second place with a gap of only eight hundred stalls on Crawford, while the Swiss Stefan Rogentin took third place with eleven hundredths behind. In the meantime, some of the favorites did not get into the top ranks-for example last year's winner Dominik Paris came in 13th and Vincent Kriechmayr, who was then placed in fifth in Beaver Creek, followed in position 17. The downward spiral of the ÖSV Herren indicates that the team is under pressure, especially after the departure of Matthias Mayer and the injury of Max Franz, such as [today.at] reported. The hopes rest on the younger talents, which, however, still have to prove that they have the potential to survive in competition.

The classics on the Saslong promises tension: the race over the wall, the camel hump and the Ciaslat meadow takes place on Saturday, and numerous athletes are keen to prevail against the strong competition. It is particularly noteworthy that many runners with high start numbers achieved good times among the top 20 drivers, which underlines the large performance density in the departure. At the upcoming World Cup, it could therefore be tight, especially if the ÖSV stars cannot be decisive.