Ski racer Linus Straßer is in the form of his life. Three days after his triumph in Kitzbühel, the 31-year-old from Munich followed up with his magnificent second victory at the night slalom in Schladming in front of 25,000 spectators.
Straßer has now won five World Cup races, and the Olympic silver medalist and the team were successful in the “Night Race” on the Planai in 2022.
As the rain continued, Straßer relegated Timon Haugan from Norway (+0.28 seconds) and Clement Noel from France (+1.02) to second and third place.
For the first time in his career, the German was narrowly in the lead after the first run, but he benefited a little from the rain that set in after his run. Sebastian Holzmann finished in 19th place (+2.76), fifth in the World Championships, making it into the points for the sixth time in a row.
The last German to win two World Cup starts in a row was Thomas Dreßen, who retired at the weekend, in February 2020. He first won the downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
Alpine skiing: Straßer implements his plan perfectly
“Kitzbühel won, Schladming won: That’s unbelievable,” said Straßer. “These are moments for a lifetime, as I said in Kitzbühel. I’m just enjoying them now.”
The DSV athlete didn’t let the external conditions stop him in his fifth World Cup victory. “Earlier in football, my games were the ones where things got messy,” joked the winner on Bavarian television.
He already managed an excellent first run and achieved the best time. “At the start I was fully with myself, fully committed to the matter. I had a plan of how I wanted to approach it and I fully implemented it,” said the Munich native.