Sunshine and mild temperatures in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Actually the best weather. However, this means additional planning work for the organizers of the winter sports world cups.
Anyone strolling in the Swiss ski resort of St. Moritz these days is enjoying the best winter weather. Sunshine with plus temperatures of up to eight degrees. The nights are currently still cold. Fortunately. Because next weekend (February 27th to March 1st) the penultimate Toboggan World Cup of the winter will take place on the only natural ice rink in the world. The competitions were actually planned to be spectator-friendly in the early afternoon.
Races will probably be moved forward
Now we have to reschedule. The tobogganers will start their races in the morning to ensure the best conditions for everyone. Instead of tobogganing from 12.30 p.m., you can now go tobogganing in the ice chute on Saturday from 8.45 a.m. On Sunday you can sleep 15 minutes longer. The men’s first run begins at 9 a.m.
The German tobogganers are still fighting hard for the overall World Cup. Olympic champion Julia Taubitz has every chance of defending her title from last year and securing the overall World Cup for the fifth time in a row. The 29-year-old from Saxony is only 15 points behind the leading Austrian Lisa Schulte. Teammate Merle Fräbel follows just four points behind.
The men are in a neck-and-neck race: Felix Loch leads just ahead of Olympic silver medalist Jonas Müller (Austria). In the men’s doubles, it smells like a successful title defense for Germany’s most successful winter sports athletes at the Olympic Games, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt.
Too warm: Ski jumping training of women canceled
In Hinzenbach, Austria, double-digit temperatures are forecast for Friday. The women’s ski jumping World Cup will still take place. “We have a cooled ice track and can jump even when it’s 20 degrees in the fall. That’s no problem“, said the president of the local ski club, Bernhard Zauner, when asked by Sportschau. However, training on Friday was canceled due to the temperatures, simply in order to have top conditions for the competition.
After difficult Olympic Games, Selina wants to get back on the road to success at the World Cup on Friday.
Garmisch: Speed races are taking place
The alpine ski racers continue without a break. In Garmisch the challenging Kandahar descent must be mastered. Although it has been pouring heavily over the last few days, the World Cup races (downhill on Saturday, 11.45 a.m. and Super-G on Sunday, 11.45 a.m., live on Erste) are not in danger. The piste is there, the conditions are very good, and the heavy rain hasn’t changed anything, the organizer said.
The ski racers also start without a long break and are guests in Andorra. The first training runs took place on Wednesday. Emma Aicher, who still has a good chance of winning the downhill ball, couldn’t cope yet and ended up at the back of the field, 3.43 seconds behind.
Biathlon: Junior World Championships are going as planned
In the Bavarian Forest too, everything currently points to spring. But the route in the Hohenzollern ski stadium on the Großer Arber is there. The organizer announced that nothing stands in the way of the race for the World Championship title among young talent. The first teams have already arrived and only have to adapt to small changes in training. The world titles will be awarded from February 28th to March 8th.
