The misery in the German speed team of ski racers continues. Romed Baumann makes a blatant mistake in Bormio.
It remains a difficult season for Germany’s strongest downhill skiers, there’s still a bit of trouble left in it. Nothing made this clearer than that damned scene on the departure from Bormio. The actually most experienced driver in the German team made a mistake right at the start: Romed Baumann from Kiefersfelden drove right past the first gate of the icy downhill slope after a driving error, and the cameras didn’t even catch the faux pas. It was only possible to resolve it via the starting camera in the replay.
“It happened brutally quickly,” said the 37-year-old Baumann himself in the Sportschau interview. “I was super motivated today. I had really set my sights on something and wanted to really accelerate in the starting section. Then I took the first swing and got on the inside ski.” It knocked his outer ski away – “and I was already on my hip. Unfortunately there was no chance of me staying in there.”
Difficult season for downhill skiers continues – Dreßen is missing
Germany’s currently strongest downhill skier was eliminated in a somewhat inglorious manner. And this driving error represents a little bit of the current mood in the German team of speed drivers, who are currently consistently missing the fastest firing line.
In addition, Thomas Dreßen was missing from the “Stelvio” due to a viral illness, and Dominik Schwaiger was also unable to start. Only Andreas Sander (19th), Simon Jocher (21st) and Josef Ferstl (39th) ended up at the bottom of the “Stelvio” finish – far behind. All of these Bavarian fast drivers clearly missed out on the top ten again. This winter they are still missing a top placement.
Surprising winner from Bormio: the Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin, who was nine hundredths of a second quicker than the fast Swiss Marco Odermatt in 1:50:73 minutes. It was a fabulous run for the Frenchman, who celebrated his first World Cup victory in downhill.
DSV sports director Wolfgang Maier: “Racing driver, not a beautiful driver”
Already after the last speed weekend in Val Gardena two weeks ago said DSV sports director Wolfgang Maier with a view to the results: “The feeling is not exhilarating.” Maier complained that hopeful Dreßen and his teammates were currently “much too passive” on their skis, and that simply shouldn’t be the case: “It’s called racing drivers, not beautiful skiers.”
Two descents were skied in Val Gardena, with a Super-G in between, and apart from veteran Romed Baumann’s respectable ninth place in the first descent on Thursday, there was little to nothing that was promising.
Slope conditions “hard on the limit” in Bormio
Sander commented on the criticism in the sports show: “It’s completely okay to say something like that. It’s also discussed internally.” He himself was somewhat exempt from criticism after he fell during training for the Val Gardena downhill run – and was handicapped accordingly. “In Val Gardena, my body didn’t do much better. I’m still not in top shape, and you have to accept that.” Sander, who often ends up further ahead in the Super-G than in the downhill, is therefore more interested in the Bormio Super-G on Friday.
The piste conditions there will then become difficult again: “It’s really at the limit,” summarized Baumann. “Bad visibility, unsettled, icy, the Stelvio demands everything from the drivers. It doesn’t get much more difficult than that. And the 1:50 final time that Cyprien Sarrazin hammered into the snow is quite an announcement. I think “It’s never been driven that fast before.”
In the video: Sarrazin surprisingly wins in Bormio
Source: BR24Sport December 28, 2023 – 6:30 p.m
