Emma Aicher out, Lena Dürr way back – the DSV runners can’t cope with the difficult conditions in Semmering at all.
There have already been five slaloms to marvel at this season, and the German ski racers were on the podium three times. Actually, so many things are going so well in the Olympic season, in which Lena Dürr and Emma Aicher are among the elite of the Stangenwald. The DSV trump card: one always went in front. But on Sunday (December 28th, 2025) in the day (1st run) and night slalom (2nd run) the two suffered a bitter setback, each in their own way.
Dürr also disappointed in the second run
Aicher was eliminated after decent split times with a threader on the finish slope. The experienced Dürr qualified for the second run in twelfth place, but three seconds behind the pack. “I definitely have to do something differently because it didn’t work that way.”said Dürr in the Sportschau interview.
After a serious mistake she almost stood at times. “That wasn’t what I was hoping for. I’m not happy with that, no.” The second run didn’t change that, in which Dürr even finished in 17th place after another run full of mistakes. Somehow the worm was in the Germans at Zauberberg in Semmering.
Shiffrin wins for the fifth time this season – rests on the podium
Unlike the strongest slalom runners of the year – Mikaela Shiffrin, who also won the fifth slalom of the season – as well as Camille Rast and Lara Colturi on the podium, the DSV riders couldn’t cope with the changeable slopes at all.
“The conditions are not easy. You have to approach each goal differently”said Rast, who led Colturi by 0.09 seconds at halftime. In contrast to the Germans, she managed this transition from goal to goal flawlessly in the first run – that made the difference. In the second run, Rast and the rest were unable to get close to the great dominator Mikaela Shiffrin, who went from fourth to first.
German drivers still lack consistency
What is noticeable about the Germans is that, unlike Shiffrin, Rast and Colturi, they are not moving forward as consistently this winter. The upward and downward swings are more clearly audible.
The frequent rider Aicher, who only made it to the top of the world this year, has now been eliminated twice, in addition to her two third places and ninth place. Dürr was also eliminated once, adding four and seven to second place. And now the big mistake and 17th place in Semmering because she didn’t like the slopes at all this time.
“Not an easy slalom,” analyzes Felix Neureuther
“It was very different. Some turns were really smooth, I think I also got caught on a gate. And then it was very grippy and broken again”she analyzed. The upper part of the slope was already broken during the day, so a lot of salt and water was used there.
That ultimately didn’t help much. During the first run there were holes again, but in run two the snow was at least more grippy again. “The conditions were incredibly difficult. The upper part of the slope completely collapsed. Not an easy slalom”said ARD Alpine ski expert Felix Neureuther before the decision was made.
However, others coped with the slope better than the Germans, and Jessica Hilzinger also dropped out in the first round. The Sunday slalom in Semmering at the end of 2025 marks the first small setback in the German women’s slalom season.