Dhe long-term duel between the ski racers Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Marco Odermatt is climbing more and more a good three weeks before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The Norwegian Kilde won the first of the two downhill runs in Wengen on Friday and celebrated his fifth win of the season, while his Swiss rival Odermatt finished second, 0.19 seconds behind. Odermatt’s compatriot Beat Feuz landed third (+0.30). The German speed men experienced a debacle and missed the top 20.
“A nice feeling,” said Kilde, who had finished second in the Super-G the day before – behind Odermatt. The Swiss won six times this winter. Together, Odermatt, the leader in the overall World Cup, and his pursuer Kilde are the defining figures of this season. At the games in China (February 4th to 20th) they are among the absolute top favorites for the medals.
“Very disappointing at the moment”
It remains to be seen whether the Germans will be able to compete for the top spots there. After their sometimes strong appearances in the Super-G on Thursday, this time they suffered a bitter damper again. Romed Baumann and Josef Ferstl, who had impressed fourth and sixth the day before, finished in 27th and 33rd place.Dominik Schwaiger, Simon Jocher and Andreas Sander were in 24th, 38th and 41st.
Especially with Sander, the World Cup runner-up, the worm is in there. His best downhill result so far this winter was eleventh place in Val Gardena just before Christmas. “Nothing fits together,” said Sander on ZDF. “It’s very disappointing right now.”
The special start right that world champion Vincent Kriechmayr received from the FIS World Federation caused a sensation. The Austrian had missed the downhill training on Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of a positive corona test from the previous week. According to the regulations, participation in at least one training session is compulsory for the start in the shot run.
After receiving the green light from a jury decision, Kriechmayr therefore drove out of the starting house on Friday morning. After a few meters, he broke off the journey and went over to the normal route inspection. The 30-year-old finished twelfth in the race. A second, longer descent is due on Saturday.
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