Linus Straßer creates enthusiasm in alpine skiing. What else is going on with German ski racers?
Linus Straßer is currently in top form and is ensuring a German high in the Alpine ski races. The 31-year-old recently won slalom on two legendary World Cup courses. In Kitzbühel he triumphed on the Ganslernhang – and a few days later in Schladming. Straßer said after his successes in “Blickpunkt Sport”: “It doesn’t get much better.”
What almost goes unnoticed is that while Straßer is experiencing a high point in his career, two experienced ski racers, Josef Ferstl and Thomas Dreßen, have ended their careers. Ferstl triumphed in 2019 on one of the most difficult routes in the Super-G in Kitzbühel. Dreßen won the downhill there in 2018. With them, the German Ski Association (DSV) has lost two prominent faces.
With the exception of Straßer and 32-year-old Lena Dürr, who has already been on the podium four times in the slalom this season, the German athletes, many of whom are over 30 years old, are not among the world’s best. So does the German Ski Association (DSV for short) have to worry about the youngsters?
“That’s not why we’re stopping operations.”
DSV Alpine director Wolfgang Maier said this in an interview with t-online: “In the future, active people will also end their careers at the age of 35. However, Thomas Dreßen retired due to injury. His knee no longer allowed competitive sports at the highest level. Josef Ferstl was In his head, however, he is no longer willing to take full risks and then it is understandable and consistent when he draws a line in the sand. That is why we are not stopping operations in German men’s sports.”
It currently appears that Straßer has no plans to end his career yet. The Munich native wants to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics. “I definitely still want to take part in Milan,” said Straßer in “Blickpunkt Sport”. In Beijing 2022 he won silver with the team. He came seventh in the slalom. In 2018 in Pyeongchang it was only enough for 22nd place in the giant slalom.
Straßer explains his desire to take part in the games in Milan as follows: “For me, or for little Linus, who used to dream of the Olympics and wasn’t completely satisfied with what he found at the last two games.”
“The task is to build new generations of downhill skiers”
Straßer shows that at the age of 31 he can still deliver top performances. Other DSV drivers such as 38-year-old Romed Baumann, 32-year-old Dominik Schwaiger and 34-year-old Andreas Sander also repeatedly compete with the world’s best. However, the performances were not enough for the podium.
In addition, Alexander Schmid, who won gold at the World Ski Championships in the parallel race last year, is still fighting his way back from a torn cruciate ligament.
Maier further explains: “Our task is to build up new generations of downhill skiers. To achieve this, we have good and committed young racers and also committed trainers in our ranks.”
“That we can get back to the absolute top of the world”
Jacob Schramm is one of these new faces. The 25-year-old made his World Cup debut in Kitzbühel and finished 50th. DSV alpine director Maier praises Schramm: “Jacob skied down the Streif for the first time. This is one of the most difficult runs in the World Cup. It’s not about placing, but about mastering the route safely and with commitment and gaining valuable experience. It is the trainer’s job to develop the young man so that he gets closer to the top of the world step by step.”
Because: On the downhill World Cup courses, the riders cannot train beyond the competitions. Maier explains: “That’s why experience counts a lot. Downhill skiers often don’t get really good at downhill until they’re 30 years old because they then have the downhill routine and can assess the descents accordingly.” Dominik Schwaiger won silver in the downhill at the 2021 World Ski Championships at the age of 32. Baumann came second in the Super-G at the World Championships at the age of 36. At 25 years old, Schramm is at the beginning of his career.