Bad weather forecast: Zermatt residents need an emergency plan

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Italian speed giant Dominik Paris has long been one of the biggest skeptics of the Matterhorn descent.

“I don’t think it benefits the safety of our sport if you start a descent at an altitude of 4,000 meters at the beginning of a World Cup winter and the running time is two and a half minutes.” said the three-time Kitzbühel winner two years ago. The organizers took the South Tyrolean’s words to heart and built the Gran Becca about 1,000 meters shorter than originally thought.

“It will be extremely difficult to win here!”

Is Paris happy now? After the first official training, the 35-year-old told Blick: “It’s quite okay from the slopes. What’s missing is a passage where you really have to overcome yourself. But if the snow gets a little faster, it can be a very cool, exciting race.” Norwegian superstar Aleksander Aamodt Kilde sees the same thing: “Skiing is particularly fun with this unique panorama. The route does not pose any major problems in terms of topography, but it is extremely difficult to win here as the smallest mistake will have a brutal impact on this relatively easy terrain.”

Niels Hintermann is in a particularly good mood after the third best training time: “I think it’s great what the organizers have achieved under the most difficult circumstances.” In a conversation with OK President Franz Julen, the Zurich resident still had something to complain about. “In my opinion, the air level during the Matterhorn jump is too high and the associated hard landing is not really healthy for the knees.” Overall World Cup defending champion Marco Odermatt admits: “I expected the slopes to be significantly softer and worse because of all the fresh snow. But after the first jump the track is in very good condition.”

Murisier mutters

Odermatt’s housemate Justin Murisier has been annoyed by the negative reporting surrounding this race in recent weeks. The speed gap on the glacier has been sharply criticized, especially by climate activists. “A lot of nonsense was written, especially on social media,” says the Walliser and tries to put these things into perspective. “I am a big fan of motorsport. But when I look at the impact that Formula 1 or the Motorcycle World Championship has on the environment, what happens during the Alpine World Cup is like a child’s birthday.”

But no one can explain away one major problem before the first World Cup races in the Matterhorn region: the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday is not good. That is why there is an emergency plan. If the wind and rain are too heavy this weekend, a race could be moved to Monday.

Source : Blick