For German downhill skiers, the alpine ski season ends in mid-February. And this is not due to melting slopes due to climate change, but rather due to an acute lack of form. After the weekend in Kvitfjell in Norway, it is clear that not a single German speed rider made it into the top 25 of the World Cup rankings, which would have qualified them to take part in the season finale in Saalbach-Hinterglemm at the end of March.
In the downhill on Saturday, Andreas Sander, who was runner-up in the 2021 World Cup, saved a World Cup point with 30th place – thus securing his status as the best German in the downhill ranking, albeit in the “under further running” category. In 36th place with 46 points, he was one point ahead of his teammate Romed Baumann, who finished in 44th place on the day.
“I actually wanted to accelerate more,” Sander analyzed his idea: “But somehow I couldn’t quite get it down.” The 34-year-old from Westphalia has been struggling with his basic pace since mid-December after he had a serious fall during training in Val Gardena. From the outside, his journeys usually look decent, but there is a lack of speed on the way to the finish. “There were definitely three, four, five tenths in there,” he also said in Norway – “and therefore a top ten place.”
Wishful thinking: He was 1.30 seconds behind Swiss surprise winner Niels Hintermann, who won in 1:44.62 minutes. A close second was Vincent Kriechmayr (+0.08 seconds), who finally gave the Austrian team their longed-for first podium place in the eighth downhill run of the season.
“Show a completely different face”
If it works, it works – Kriechmayr promptly confirmed this old rule on Sunday when he won the Super-G in Kvitfjell on a shortened slope in 1.09.23 minutes ahead of the Canadian Jeff Read (+0.17). The German speed riders emphasized from the first to the penultimate race this ski season that the rule applies the other way around but also. At the end, Simon Jocher achieved a positive 20th place (+0.71), but missed the top 25 in the Super-G World Cup by one point.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Achim Dreis Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Achim Dreis Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3
In contrast to the former Kitzbühel winners Thomas Dreßen and Josef Ferstl, who ended their careers during the ongoing winter season, Sander wants to continue driving, “even if it’s not that much fun at the moment”. In the Super-G he took 25th place on Sunday (+0.86), meaning he also missed the final in the second fastest discipline. “If you don’t do that, it’s been a miserable season,” he said bluntly.
Now he wants to fill the remaining time with training, analysis and European Cup races in order to regain new self-confidence. “And then show a completely different face in the coming season,” as he announced in Norway: “Hopefully.”
