Winter sports news blog
Disappointment for ski “lion” Straßer
Updated on January 19, 2025 – 2:52 p.mReading time: 24 minutes
The winter sports season has begun. In our news ticker you will find all the important news about ski jumping, biathlon, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing.
After recently improving form, ski racer Linus Straßer suffered another disappointment in Wengen. Germany’s best slalom rider from TSV 1860 Munich only finished 13th in the classic on the Lauberhorn. The 32-year-old will have to wait for his first podium finish this season.
The outstanding Norwegians celebrated a triple success in Switzerland. Atle Lie McGrath triumphed ahead of his compatriots Timon Haugan and Henrik Kristoffersen. Straßer’s teammate Anton Tremmel finished 28th.
After three zero numbers in a row, Straßer recently came sixth and fourth in Madonna di Campiglio and Adelboden. In Wengen he didn’t take the last risk in the first round and was initially in seventh place. In the final he drove strongly up to the steep slope, but then fell back.
The German toboggan team secured two titles in a duel with rival Austria at the European Championships in Winterberg. Julia Taubitz and the doubles Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt took gold in imperial weather in the Sauerland. In the women’s doubles, Innsbruck European champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal took silver.
At the last European Championship there was only one German title, but four for Austria. “I’m really happy about it,” said new national coach Patrick Leitner and was “extremely proud” of his team.
The German cross-country skier Laura Gimmler achieved a respectable success at the World Cup in Les Rousses, France. The 31-year-old from the Allgäu took fourth place in the sprint in the classic technique and missed out on a podium finish by just 1.4 seconds.
Kristine Stavaas Skistand from Norway secured victory ahead of the two Swedes Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling.
The German biathlete Vanessa Voigt will no longer take part in the remaining races of the home World Cup in Oberhof. The 27-year-old, who had a cold over the Christmas holidays, has still not fully recovered. Therefore, she will not be used in the single mixed relay or in the mixed relay on Sunday.
On Friday, Voigt had only finished 68th in the sprint and thus missed qualifying for the pursuit race. After the competition, she had to be supported by team members and taken to the locker room. Her health had apparently already become noticeable in the run-up to the World Cup: in Le Grand-Bornand at the last World Cup in 2024, she was not fully fit and had also decided not to take part in the World Team Challenge at Schalke.
Sports director Felix Bitterling explained: “Unfortunately it seems that the illness has hit her much harder. It’s about not endangering the rest of the season and especially the World Cup.” It was therefore jointly decided that Voigt would no longer take part in any further missions in Oberhof.
Erik Lesser and Arnd Peiffer recorded a special episode of their podcast “The Biathlon Double Room” in front of 400 biathlon fans in Oberhof. Supported by surprise guest Simon Eder from Austria, the two former world-class athletes chatted about their careers and the current sporting situation on the sidelines of the World Cup in Thuringia.
“It was extremely powerful to sit in front of 400 people. I felt a good spirit,” Lesser is quoted as saying in a press release. Arnd Peiffer added: “The audience was very disciplined. It was super pleasant and relaxed.”