Linus Straßer from Munich won the last race of alpine skiers before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. At the floodlight spectacle on the Planai in Schladming, Austria, he won the slalom competition on Tuesday (01/25/2022) after an outstanding performance with 1:46:00 minutes ahead of the surprise second Atle Lie McGrath from Norway (+0.03 sec.) and local hero Manuel Feller (+0.39).
Straßer: “Skiing is a brutal sport”
For Straßer it is the third World Cup victory of his career. Last year he had already won the slalom competition in Zagreb, in 2017 he triumphed at the City Event in Stockholm. He is also the first German to stand on top of the podium at the night classic in Schladming. After his coup, the slalom specialist is also one of the medal candidates at the Winter Games in Beijing.
“After the first run, I said I’d try to do my thing again in the second, which I did really well,” said the beaming winner after the race in “BR”: “Skiing is a brutal sport. I’m really enjoying it right now . It’s mostly runs where you have to go all-in. I was able to implement that very well.”
After up to 20 centimeters of fresh snow, the drivers could expect a crisp to icy slope at the anniversary race in the Ennstal. Kristoffer Jakobsen, who started the race with starting number nine, delivered a fantastic drive on the 596-meter-long track in the first race and put himself ahead of Guiliano Razzoli (+0.58 seconds) and the two third-placed Lucas Braathen and Clement Noel ( +0.67) to the top. Straßer also had an excellent starting position in fifth place, just 0.15 seconds behind the podium.
Feller trumps, Jakobsen slips up
In the second round, Manuel Feller, who was still missing in Kitzbühel because of a positive corona test, came out on top. After a completely screwed up first run (28th), the local hero improved significantly and, thanks to a strong performance, especially in the last section of the course, took the lead, to the delight of the 1,000 Austrian fans present. At his 53.12 seconds, the competition bit their teeth in rows.