This weekend Thomas Dreßen starts the new season – in front of a spectacular backdrop: the Matterhorn. It’s a new beginning again for the best German downhill skier.
There are worse motivational aids than your own daughter. In any case, the birth of little Elena at the end of June “gave Thomas Dreßen a real boost,” as he says with shining eyes.
The new drive should finally bring the now 29-year-old downhill skier back to where he was before: to the top of the world’s best downhill skiers. His motivation: “The Kloa”, i.e. the little one, should experience for herself what her father is capable of.
“It would be cool to be successful again with the little one,” says Dreßen, “otherwise someone will have to tell her what I did.” He has already done a lot, but that was a long time ago: the last three years were primarily characterized by physical problems. So now a new beginning again, in front of a magnificent backdrop: the downhill skiers start the winter with two races on the iconic Matterhorn on Saturday and Sunday.
Dreßen has shown great promise since he won the Streif in Kitzbühel in January 2018. Another victory followed in Kvitfjell, but after that his career went off track for the first time: In November 2018 he had a serious fall in Beaver Creek – torn cruciate ligament, broken knee, damaged hip. Exactly one year later: victory in the comeback in Lake Louise, then two more successes and two third places by the end of the season. So, is everything okay again? Not at all.
Alpine skiing: Dreßen is looking forward to the new season
Between March 2020 and November 2022, i.e. for two and a half years, Dreßen did not compete in any races, with the exception of the World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo in February 2021 (18th): his hip and knee required further operations. Even when he wanted to start regularly again last winter, his body often didn’t cooperate and there were technical errors. Despite illness and knee pain, Dreßen only rode well at the World Championships: tenth in the downhill, just 0.26 seconds away from bronze.
And now? “I’m just looking forward to the season,” emphasizes Dreßen. Well, his body now has to be looked after “like a Formula 1 car”, down to the last screw. But no new construction sites have opened up.
And so, according to Dreßen, he has had a good preparation, and through increased giant slalom training he has eliminated “beginner mistakes” that led to falls in Kitzbühel or in World Championship training last season.
Dreßen says he can now “listen more to my feelings” again. He will need this special skiing feeling at the races on the Matterhorn, which had to be canceled last year due to an acute lack of snow. The route from above Zermatt down to Cervinia in Italy is new territory, which isn’t so bad, claims Dreßen. There are three training runs scheduled, “if you don’t know where to go afterward, you don’t have to drive anyway.”
Anyway, “I’m free,” says Dreßen. His goals for the races and the season without a major event? “I just want to perform at my best again, then nothing will stand in the way of a good result.” In plain language: Dreßen believes in his return to the top of the world. He has enough motivational help for the next few years.