The weather-related cancellation of the cross-border descents on the Matterhorn has given rise to new discussions about the early start of the season and the racing calendar. Winter sports expert Felix Neureuther advocates moving it to spring.
“I may leave the place without ever seeing the Matterhorn.” BR24Sport reporter Andreas Troll summed up the capricious weather between Zermatt and Cervinia on Saturday.
Thick fog enveloped the Swiss landmark and, coupled with wind and fresh snow, meant that the first cross-country descent from Switzerland to Italy had to be canceled. Then on Sunday the certainty: The second race also has to bow to the weather and is canceled.
German men’s head coach Christian Schwaiger called the first rejection “frustrating”: “We were motivated that it finally started today.” The season started with the giant slalom in Sölden at the end of October canceled due to weatherno World Cup points have been awarded for the alpine men this season.
New discussions about an early start to the season
The cancellation of the first descent led to discussions about the early start of the season and the racing calendar in the Alpine skiing being brought to a new boil. “The criticism could be avoided by choosing the timing of the race differently,” said ARD/BR winter sports expert Felix Neureuther.
Regardless of the weather, the early start of the season with a demanding, long descent also means: “The athletes have to put in an incredible effort in advance because they have to get fit by this point.”
There has also been criticism from athletes. The Italian speed specialist Dominik Paris, for example, doesn’t like the Matterhorn experiment. The strenuous race comes at a time when the athletes are not yet deep into winter and in downhill mode.
Neureuther: Move the Matterhorn descent to spring
“The climate is changing, the opportunities to train downhill are becoming fewer and fewer,” said Neureuther. For the former technology specialist, such a start to the season is also rather unfortunate for the speed riders: “That’s why everyone actually wants this descent to be postponed until spring. Then it’s a brilliant descent with a great backdrop.”
Climate change is another argument for a later appointment: “The organizers had to put in a lot of effort in advance to get the piste in the necessary condition,” said Neureuther: “There isn’t a lot of natural snow yet that has settled over the crevasses “You can drive over it. But that would be all there is to it in the spring.”
DSV versus FIS – the relationship remains stressful
Wolfgang Maier, sports director of the German Ski Association (DSV), finds the discussion about the racing calendar “to be pointless over time. The topic has been on the radar for several years.” He criticized Johan Eliasch, the president of the World Ski Association FIS, “who definitely wanted more races. Of course, as is often the case, you don’t tell the whole truth, there are different ways of looking at the topic,” said Maier on BR television.
The DSV has “clearly positioned itself” and expressed its ideas “where you can start with the World Cup, how you can start with the World Cup.” For a direct comparison, you only have to look at Levi, Finland, where the women’s slalom is scheduled to take place: “It’s deep winter there, that’s where we want to see in winter sports.”
In response to the FIS’s argument that there would be too few race weekends left for all events if the season started later, Maier said: “That’s not true the way it’s portrayed.” Maier emphasized: “We always drove around 44 or 45 races per season. Except for Sölden, we actually always started at the end of November.”
DSV sports director Maier: “We can’t prevail”
Maier underlined the differences that still exist between the DSV and the FIS: “The FIS is trying to represent a certain line of argument, which in many areas is contrary to what we believe, which is contemporary.”
The hook? “Our problem is that we cannot assert ourselves,” explains Maier. FIS President Eliasch pushes issues such as the racing calendar onto the FIS Council, “there are 16 or 17 members there and you have a difficult situation (…) In the end you can’t make the right decision in the interests of sport.”
Dreßen and Sander torn back and forth
The athletes are torn; for them, of course, it’s all about their sport. “We are very aware of climate change. There are few sports that are as affected as winter sports,” said German downhill skier Thomas Dreßen, who, for example, foregoes private vacation flights: “Everyone has to draw a certain line for themselves about what they want to do “At the end of the day it’s our job, but it’s also my passion.”
Andreas Sander was still hoping on Saturday that there would be racing on Sunday, he called the cancellation of the first race “a shame”: “We want to compete, we want to compete, we want to show what we have achieved in the summer and autumn.” Basically, according to BR24Sport reporter Troll, most athletes regret the cancellation: “They are racing drivers and they want to race.”
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Source: Blickpunkt Sport November 11, 2023 – 10:00 a.m
