According to tradition, this meeting took place almost nine years ago in the practice of orthopedist Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. The then very young ski racer Linus Straßer picked up the then not so young ski racer Felix Neureuther from treatment. Müller-Wohlfahrt immediately wanted to know how he, Linus, was doing. Great, replied Straßer, then 23, with a grin – while Neureuther, then 32, had his back. The two of them set off from the practice for lunch together, not without a final message from the doctor to the younger one: “The day is coming when competitive sport will leave its mark on your body.”
Straßer himself has now reached the advanced age of 32 as a skier and has collected all sorts of anecdotes, although very few of them culminate in the orthopedist. So far, acute visits to the doctor have been limited. “I am totally blessed with good genetics,” explains Straßer at a meeting. And yet Müller-Wohlfahrt’s previous prediction was not entirely wrong. “Sometimes the knee here, sometimes the back there,” says Straßer. Tweaks, then, but of a smaller kind, which is an advantage given Straßer’s big goals: “Of course, for me it’s about winning, being on the podium.”
:“This is a huge nightmare”
What a misery for the German skiers: The men’s speed team currently consists of two racers – the list of failures is long. The case of Andreas Sander poses special puzzles.
Sölden was a cheerful gallop of this Alpine season in giant slalom, 170 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle is now the first meeting of the secret supreme discipline of skiing: the slalom season begins in Levi, Finland. The women will be competing there on Saturday, Lena Dürr from SV Germering is one of the favorites, before the men tackle the “Levi Black” slope on Sunday (10 a.m. and 1 p.m., BR and Eurosport). “The slope is often made a little smaller than it is,” says Straßer. In the upper flat part, the art of transferring speed to the skis despite the slight slope is required – before you abruptly enter the sloping section. “The transition to the steep is uncompromising,” says Straßer. If you’re traveling at too high a speed at this point, even the best genetics won’t help.
From a German perspective, slalom may actually be more than the secret Alpine supreme discipline, at least since the era of slalom artist Felix Neureuther, who continues to shine beyond skiing even after his career ended – or simply casts a shadow on all those who came after him. Also on Linus Straßer?
The biographies of many skiers read like veteran files – with Straßer it is different
A good ten years ago, Neureuther was the last German slalom rider to receive the trophy with the chamois for his victory in Kitzbühel. Neureuther, the most successful German World Cup rider in history, was already someone that young racers emulated. Straßer was one of them. Felix the Great was one of his role models – and in order to catch up with the industry leaders, Straßer sometimes looked as if he was copying Neureuther’s style in his first years in the World Cup. But the template of the model from Garmisch did not fit the ski lion from TSV 1860 Munich.
Straßer was less one to attract attention with bold sayings or to seek the center of attention. Anyone who accompanies him in training will meet an athlete who is focused on the matter at hand: on skiing well, on moving the ski as close to the pole as possible – but not too close to avoid the threader. Straßer has found his own style, far from the TV cameras, but also in the spotlight, for example in Kitzbühel and Schladming, where he scored the coup last January and won the two most important World Cup races of the slalom winter. By winning the Gams von Kitz, Straßer has taken a big step out of Neureuther’s shadow. If you like, Straßer is Neureuther’s heir, but apparently with health benefits.
Perhaps this aura made him the strongest Linus Straßer ever to ski in this World Cup and World Championship season: there is no sign of the massive back problems that plagued Neureuther in the final years of his career. Many biographies of skiers, including those of technical specialists, read like veteran files. Manuel Feller, the great Austrian slalom hope for the home world championships in Saalbach, has been fighting with his back for years, just like Neureuther once did. Feller, also 32 years old, recently reported how much back pain limits him. Last winter, Feller benefited from the fact that the German “wasted” the first races, as Straßer calls it. And this year?
Last winter, Straßer got a new service man, and both had to get used to the equipment. “That was just what we needed,” says Straßer. The two have now found the “right set-up”. “This year I’m at least one step ahead.”
What is also new is that the slalom competition has two returnees: Neureuther’s former long-term rival Marcel Hirscher, 35, will also start in Levi. The Austrian, who is now traveling under the Dutch flag, is unlikely to be considered a serious favorite for victory after finishing 23rd in the giant slalom in Sölden. Lucas Braathen, who came fourth in Sölden on his comeback – now for Brazil – comes into question after a year’s break. A reliable contender for victory is the Frenchman Clément Noël, decorated, among other things, as the slalom Olympic champion in Beijing. And then there is the double winner from TSV 1860.
