Ominous clouds are amassing over German alpine skiing
This weekend initiates the alpine skiing World Cup season in Sölden, with Lena Dürr and Linus Straßer being the only German athletes holding hopes. Other competitors face various challenges, some severe. The German Ski Association (DSV) is in a grim situation.
Double World Champion Alexander Schmid is continuously drained. Andreas Sander is disqualified from sports. Simon Jocher is recovering from a ruptured disc. Stefan Luitz sustained a bone bruise and ligament damage in his left wrist just recently and needs rest. Thomas Dreßen and Josef Ferstl have hung up their boots. Moreover, emerging talents that were supposed to fill vacancies in the future are either unprepared or injured. Regrettably, German ski racers are not in top shape as the World Cup season commences in Sölden this weekend.
If any racer could have managed a decent result in the giant slaloms on Saturday (female competitors) and Sunday (male competitors), it would have been Schmid. However, the Bavarian native is usually battling exhaustion, frequently under the weather, underperforming in training – and then needs two days of relaxation, as coach Christian Schwaiger admits, with a hint of resignation and gloom.
What's causing this? "If I knew that," Schmid replies. In the past, Schmid fought Epstein-Barr virus, although its current involvement remains unclear. The past weeks have been a roller coaster, Schmid says. Furthermore, his previously injured knee often rears its head. Schmid admits, "I have to lower my expectations."
"This is not a promising outlook," Schwaiger admission, "but that's the reality we're facing now. It's disheartening when top performers from past seasons are simply not fit." Therefore, hopes rest on only one female and one male athlete: Lena Dürr and Linus Straßer. Both finished second in the slalom World Cup last season, but this weekend, their past achievements bear no relevance.
"Lina is not up to his best in the giant slalom," Schwaiger laments – but in the slalom, he has no more proof to deliver. Any racer who wins in Kitzbühel and Schladming in quick succession, who captures two classics consecutively, belongs to the elite in the world, without a doubt. And yet, "it's old news, the new season begins," Straßer acknowledges.
In the new season, which is also a World Cup season, the 31-year-old, christened "fairy dust" or "elixir of life" by Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier due to his victories, aims to "compete in every race." The taste of victory fuels Straßer's aspiration for more. "I want," Straßer declares, "to chase victories." His primary goal is to win the slalom World Cup. Last season, he finished second behind Manuel Feller.
Dürr landed on the podium in the battle for the crystal globe alongside ski queen Mikaela Shiffrin. For her and Straßer, the real adventure begins in mid-November with races in Levi, Finland, and Gurgl, Austria. "I feel good," Dürr says, having consistently performed well for two years now, and especially emphasizes, "I'm in shape." This is the best news for the DSV in these trying times. "Now," Schwaiger concludes, "the backup team just has to step up. Miracles do happen."
Despite the challenging situation facing the German Ski Association, double World Champion Alexander Schmid and rising star Linus Straßer remain the only German athletes with significant hopes in this alpine skiing World Cup season. Schmid, despite his battle with exhaustion and frequent underperformance in training, continues to aspire for victories and aims to compete in every race of the new season.
