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The most violent somersault
Croatian Leona Popovic (26) is considered one of the most explosive drivers ever. Shortly before the finish of the first slalom run in Kranska Gora (Sln), she would have liked to have less energy. What happened? Popovic got stuck and flew headfirst into the snow. A somersault that you rarely see. The replay on TV raised fears of the worst because she had violently twisted her knees. But Popovic stood up, gave a thumbs up and even started the second point. In the end she came eleventh.
The worsening relationship crisis
When Hernik Kristoffersen (29) was still skiing at Rossignol, the Norwegian was regularly on the podium. Since the switch to the Van Deer material of his former arch-rival Marcel Hirscher (34), this consistency has been lacking: after three victories last winter, the slalom world champion is still without a podium place this season. It also became clear in Adelboden that the coordination between skis and boots was not optimal for the Norwegian. Fifth place in the giant slalom was followed by a failure in the slalom. These results will not have a positive impact on the relationship between Kristoffersen and Hirscher’s Van Deer crew.
The fastest flatlander
Have you ever heard of Dzenifera Germane (20)? The Latvian is an almost unknown quantity, but caused a sensation in her third World Cup slalom and finished 12th. Never in history has an athlete from the Baltic state, whose highest point is 311 meters above sea level, managed to advance so far in a ski race. Dzenifera’s mother Ulla once competed for the Soviet Union, placing 14th in downhill at the 1989 World Ski Championships in Vail.
The biggest flop
Loïc Meillard (27) exuded a lot of confidence before this season. Main reason: Outfitter Look-Rossignol has developed a new binding system especially for the vice world champion in giant slalom. The Walliser was very enthusiastic about it after the summer training. But the euphoria has now turned into pure frustration. After the binding had already fallen open in Sölden without any driving error from Meillard, the same thing happened again in Chuenisbärgli. What is especially painful is that Loïc’s third best split time was recorded just before the defeat due to the commitment. Coach Matteo Joris (43) now calls on his protégé to action: “Meillard must immediately replace the bindings of his giant slalom skis.”
Shiffrin’s most violent statement
Mikaela Shiffrin (28) has not been eliminated in a slalom since the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. But now that the US ski queen is hit again, she is thrown out in the first point. “I hate getting involved,” she says openly as ever. Yet you rarely hear such harsh words from her. Her lead in the Slalom World Cup shrinks to 5 points if Petra Vlhova (28) wins.
The most beautiful tears
They do not roll down her cheeks, but are clearly visible: Camille Rast (24) has watery eyes when she appears for the SRF interview. No wonder. The Valais showed a furious race and finished fourth, equaling Rast’s best result in the World Cup.
The biggest surprise
The fact that Marco Odermatt (26) won the giant slalom in Adelboden for the third time in a row is no sensation given his excellent capabilities. But some members of his fan club were completely stunned on Saturday evening when the superstar boarded their bus at 8.30pm! Because Odermatt was transported by plane from the training camp at Reiteralm in Austria to the Bernese Oberland on Friday, he was left without a car after the awards ceremony in Adelboden. Of course, there were several people who would have provided the world champion and Olympic champion with a limousine. But the down-to-earth athlete of the century decided to travel home in the fan car, just like last year.
Wallis’s negative hat-trick
Elena Stoffel (27) is not having any luck this slalom winter. In 33rd place she narrowly missed the second point, missing 9 hundredths. This is not new for the Valais woman: she finished 33rd twice this winter, she also finished 31st and 37th. Stoffel only managed to score points once: in Courchevel (Fr) she finished 30th and climbed to 16th place after the first run.
The heroes in the background
The big winners of the weekend, in addition to giant triumphant Marco Odermatt and slalom champion Manuel Feller (31), are also the men of track boss Toni Hari. After the Chuenisbärgli team had created a strong piste base with little snow in the previous days, they suddenly had to fight against too much fresh snow over the weekend. Hari’s heroes have won this battle! Chief race director Rainer Salzgeber especially praised the reward: “I am sure that under these circumstances any other World Cup giant slalom would have been cancelled. But the residents of Adelboden have once again made possible what seemed impossible: sensational!”
The TV farewell
SRF commentator Marco Felder (49) and ski expert Tina Weirather (34) report on the races from the TV studio in Leutschenbach – under not particularly easy conditions. Why? Felder tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee in St. Moritz and Weirather is 9 months pregnant. “Greetings from Dick Dick & Doof,” she writes on Instagram and places a smiley next to it. Weirather will no longer comment on races this winter – she will be back at the microphone in the new season.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
