“Wouldn’t have been good advertising”: Ski legend Knauss welcomes cancellation of Matterhorn races

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Austrian ski legend Hans Knauss (51) had the feeling in recent days as if he were traveling to his own past. “What is happening in Zermatt reminds me very much of the 90s, when the FIS chose Whistler Mountain as the location for the start of the Speed ​​​​World Cup,” groans the 52-year-old, adding the unpleasant punch line to this story adds. : “We have flown to Canada four years in a row. Because weather conditions at Whistler Mountain are so unstable this time of year, we have only completed two training runs in these four years. And I fear that the strong November wind in the Matterhorn region will no longer be possible in the future.

Training took place on the “Gran Becca”. But the two races, like the second and third rehearsals, fell victim to the killer combination of wind and fresh snow. Hans Knauss makes no secret of the fact that training on this track was more than enough. “The slope is just too easy in these conditions. The fresh snow made the route so slow that the drivers could barely move in the sliding sections. The jumps also degenerated into short hops because there was no speed.”

Knauss advocates March races

That is why the ORF ski expert comes to the conclusion that it is not a problem that there were no race images of this descent on TV. “Broadcasting this race would not have been good advertising for our sport.”

Knauss still wants Zermatt-Cervinia to remain on the World Cup calendar. But the Styrians, like Marc Berthod, are advocating that the date for departure to two countries (start in Switzerland, finish in Italy) be moved from November to March. “There is so much snow in Zermatt and Cervinia in March that the slopes could be designed much more attractively. And because the weather is much more stable at this altitude in the spring, Zermatt-Cervinia is the perfect location for me to hold the World Cup final.”

Women’s race as a last chance?

However, OK president Franz Julen repeatedly claims that a Matterhorn descent in the spring would fail due to financing. “None of our sponsors were interested in a World Cup event in the spring. These companies logically want to invest their money in summer sports at this time of year.”

But: FIS chairman Johan Eliasch absolutely wants the World Cup races on the Matterhorn. And if a billionaire like Eliasch really wants to organize an event, it is unlikely that it will fail because of financing.

And the team from Zermatt-Cervnia has one more chance to prove that fair World Cup races can also be held in this area in November: the two women’s downhill events are scheduled for next weekend. But the weather forecasts once again contain a lot of wind…

Source : Blick