Despite the Austrian’s great form, Odermatt doesn’t have to worry about anything

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Four more sleeps until the first World Cup descent this winter. And there are already many indications that the alpine gladiators on the “Birds of Prey” will be very shaken up. In terms of topography, the “Raraubvogel” piste in the American Rocky Mountains is always mentioned in the same breath as the infamous “Streif” in Kitzbühel or the brutally selective “Stelvio” in Bormio.

But unlike the downhill classics in Europe, the World Cup course from 1999 and 2015 has been prepared too carefully in recent years. But this year everything should be different: the track designed by Bernhard Russi has been completely frozen in recent days! These are conditions that are normally perfect for Marco Odermatt. The man from Nidwalden won gold under similar circumstances at the Downhill World Cup in Courchevel last February.

Schwarz surprises his trainers with this

This week, however, the two-time overall World Cup winner is questioning whether his back can withstand the load. As a reminder, last Tuesday the 26-year-old suffered a nasty blow to his intervertebral disc during Super-G training at Copper Mountain, twisting his upper body. After a two-day break, Odermatt resumed training, but did not set top times.

In stark contrast to the Austrian mega-all-rounder Marco Schwarz (28). The Carinthian has completely surprised his trainers in recent days. “The Blacky manages to switch from the short slalom skis to the long downhill skis seemingly effortlessly,” says ÖSV head speed coach Sepp Brunner. “Just a few days after taking second place at the World Cup slalom in Gurgl, Marco set very fast times during downhill training in Copper Mountain.”

Blacky’s luxury problem

But despite his excellent early form, Schwarz is also causing headaches for his coaching staff. Head coach Marko Pfeifer admits that the slalom podium of “Blacky” in Obergurgl did not exactly suit him. «During our preparation for the Blacky season we focused on the giant slalom and the speed disciplines. And that’s why I assumed to Gurgl that we could give him one or two important breaks from competition in slalom this winter. But after he came second in Gurgl, I will probably have to use him in the other slaloms as well.

No expert believes it is possible for Schwarz to consistently be at the top in all four disciplines. Odermatt’s friend Justin Murisier says on behalf of many: “I really cannot imagine that it is still possible today for an athlete to win in the downhill on Saturday and in the slalom on Sunday in a classic such as in Wengen or Kitzbühel.”

And that is why we do not have to do so badly for our Marco Odermatt in the battle for the overall World Cup.

Source : Blick