DSV riders without top place - activists disturb in Gurgl
The German slalom racers around co-favorite Linus Straßer missed out on a top place at the World Cup opener in Gurgl. The man from Munich finished in ninth place in the gate run in Gurgl in Tyrol on Saturday.
The Austrian hosts celebrated a triple success: Manuel Feller won ahead of Marco Schwarz (+0.23 seconds) and Michael Matt (+1.05). Straßer was one and a half seconds off victory and half a second off the podium. Sebastian Holzmann finished in 15th place (+2.05).
"Very disappointing"
Strasser said on BR television that the result was "very disappointing" in terms of placing. In terms of skiing, however, there were "very, very good things". The 31-year-old made one big mistake in both the first and second run and lost a lot of time. "I knew before the race that I wasn't quite at the level I wanted to be at in order to be right at the front. But these are good steps, I'm on the right track."
After the giant slalom at the start of the season in Sölden had to be abandoned and the two downhill races on the Matterhorn were canceled due to bad weather, the slalom in Gurgl in the Ötztal was the first complete men's race of the winter. And it was a home triumph for the Austrians. Tyrolean local hero Feller celebrated the third victory of his World Cup career. Anton Tremmel, Linus Witte and Fabian Himmelsbach from the German team were eliminated in the first run.
Interruption by activists
Shortly before the race was decided, activists caused an interruption lasting several minutes. Several people ran into the finish area and smeared the snow with orange paint. Security forces led them away and at least one person was pulled out of the finish line lying down. The area was then cleaned of the paint - the remaining five riders had to wait at the start for their second run.
The fans on the course acknowledged the protest action with booing. Top skier Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway shouted wildly at the activists and had to be restrained by the support staff, as can be seen on TV footage. Apparently, he wanted to approach the demonstrators in a complete rage.
Despite Linus Straßer's disappointing ninth-place finish in the alpine skiing World Cup opener in Gurgl, he saw positive aspects in his performance, mentioning some "very, very good things." Despite missing out on a podium spot by half a second, Straßer is optimistic, believing he's on the right track and made improvements.
Gurgl, in Tyrol, witnessed an exciting alpine skiing World Cup event, with triple Austrian success led by Manuel Feller. Straßer's alpine skiing World Cup experience in Gurgl was marred by a brief interruption caused by activists, who disrupted the race with paint protests.
Source: www.dpa.com
