Linus Straßer looked a little perplexed when he finished work after a few seconds. The Munich ski racer also remained without points in the second slalom World Cup of the season.
The 29-year-old retired in the first round of the Madonna di Campiglio night event after a mistake in the upper section of the route. His teammates also missed the final.
The victory went to world champion Sebastian Foss-Solevaag from Norway. The Frenchman Clement Noel, who won in Val d’Isère a week and a half ago, was clearly heading for a new personal best in the second run – before he slipped at the last gate. The French overall World Cup winner Alexis Pinturault came in second, 0.10 seconds back, and third was the Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen (+0.11).
“That was very unfortunate,” said Wolfgang Maier, Alpine Director of the German Ski Association (DSV), with a view of Straßers Aus of the dpa. Even in Val d’Isère, the greatest hope for slalom among the German men had not qualified for the second run – at the time weakened by a gastrointestinal infection.
This time, Straßer made a “classic driving mistake”, according to Maier. “After the first two races without anything, it’s not easy for any athlete. But Linus is tough. He’s had several ups and downs,” said the alpine boss.
In Maier’s words, there was a certain degree of confidence that Straßer would be able to get back to the front in the first run after the turn of the year on January 6th in Zagreb. Last winter he drove to victory in Croatia completely by surprise.
Maier found it “disappointing” that no other German made it into the points in Madonna di Campiglio. Fabian Himmelsbach, Julian Rauchfuß and Anton Tremmel came in 34th, 36th and 48th. David Ketterer was eliminated – just like the two highly regarded Austrians Marco Schwarz and Manuel Feller.
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