Suche
Mein Konto
ÖSV women under pressure: Can they shine in the slalom in Gurgl?
The ÖSV women have an important chance to shine at the Ski World Cup Slalom in Gurgl after a mixed start to the season.
ÖSV women under pressure: Can they shine in the slalom in Gurgl?
The Austrian technical ladies had a disappointing start in the Ski World Cup. At the first stop in Killington, USA, Ricarda Haaser achieved eighth place, the best placement for the ÖSV team in the giant slalom. Katharina Liensberger, who started the race with a bruised back after a fall, finished the slalom in ninth place. The performances of Katharina Huber and Katharinarupp, however, were disappointing after they were close to the podium after the first run. Head coach Roland Assinger expressed his dissatisfaction with the runners' lack of courage: "If you're fifth, seventh and tenth after the first run, then that's ideal for attacking. But unfortunately that didn't happen. That annoys me to no end that you're not fully on the podium or fully on the attack," criticized Assinger, while ORF expert Niki Hosp also criticized the performances shown in her analysis. “You can't win anything on this slope without attacking,” said Hosp, who called on the young riders to take more risks.
Return for new opportunities
This Saturday, the ÖSV team is taking a new chance to prove itself at the Ski World Cup Women's Slalom in Gurgl. The focus is particularly on Katharina Liensberger, who is confident after her strong second place in Levi. She sees the home race as a special motivation to build on her impressive performance. Their head coach Assinger plans to raise expectations for the entire team since the first half of the season didn't go as planned. The other ÖSV runners, including Katharinarupp and Katharina Huber, are also aiming for a return to the podium after falling behind in the first races.
On the international stage, Mikaela Shiffrin is considered the top favorite for the race in Gurgl and is aiming for her 99th World Cup victory after triumphing in the last five slaloms. Her dominance presents a major challenge for the other athletes. While the competition, like Lena Dürr and Anna Swenn-Larsson, is determined to create surprise moments, all athletes have to get used to the snow conditions on the Kirchenkar slope. The race will have a decisive influence on the women's further form and their reactions to the initial failure.