At the Snowboard World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, Ramona Hofmeister is one of the great hopes from a German point of view. In the parallel giant slalom on Sunday, the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist suffered a serious setback. Hofmeister explains why in her column for sport.de.
Yes, it was a black day for the German snowboard team at the World Championships in Georgia.
All five starters were eliminated in the round of 16 on the so-called red track due to a fall and I would like to say at this point that the conditions under which the world championship race in giant slalom, which athletes work towards all year, were not actually fair, were held became.
What happened?
The training day before the race had already been canceled due to poor wind and weather conditions. Conditions worsened overnight. Deep grooves and troughs had formed on the slope, at the same time the slope was very soft – not ideal conditions because the board does not grip well in such conditions.
The organizers managed to fix the blue track to some extent, the red track was unfortunately in a miserable condition and therefore difficult to drive. The qualifying times decide for each couple who had to start on which track and fate would have it that all German starters had to start on the red track.
In the first run, Melanie Hochreiter was the first to suffer; the exit came in the upper third, the board could not be held in combination with grooves and soft snow – fall! Carolin Langenhorst was then ready in the next round of 16, again on the red lane, again the same problem – fall!
“In snowboarding you have to attack, otherwise it won’t work”
I had noticed everything up in the starting area; The red train was also waiting for me. In snowboarding you have to attack, otherwise it won’t work. I had no choice and drove off boldly. I was quickly able to gain a comfortable lead against Tsubaki Miki and was in the lead when my snowboard got caught in the grooves in the lower third – a fall and the end of my dream of the title! The Japanese tumbled to the finish and later became world champion.
The men, Elias Huber and Ole Prantl, also had to start on the red track; they too fell, sometimes in exactly the same places where we women had dropped out of the race. Outdoor sports back and forth. In this accumulation of falls on a track one can confidently state that regular conditions look different!
What remains?
Getting angry for a day is allowed, especially when you, as a World Cup leader and favorite, are slowed down with such general conditions. But then, of course, we look ahead again. There are two more medal chances to focus on!
Best regards
Ramona Hofmeister