There is a risk of a “castrated” lineage: in Kvitfjell (almost) everything goes against Odermatt!

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Marco Odermatt does not have good memories of Kvitfjell. The man from Nidwalden has competed in six World Cup races on the 1994 Olympic course since 2019, with no more than a 13th place in the 2022 downhill.

Why has the superstar from Lake Lucerne, who has won ten World Cup victories this winter alone, had such a difficult time at the Norwegian Olympic Games? Blick is investigating the causes with three men who had a special influence on the Kvitfjell descent.

Austrian Hannes Reichelt celebrated his eleventh World Cup victory here in 2015. “The first few years on this slope I had exactly the same experience as Odi: I was slow and endless. And for a long time I had the feeling that as a good technician I would never be able to handle the many sliding passages,” recalls the 43-year-old. “But at some point I realized that on this slope there are a few parts where you technically can achieve a lot more than I initially thought. I took a few corners much tighter than the trainers advised me. And if the Odi does the same, he will be able to win in this descent too.”

Reichelt’s Salzburg compatriot Michael Walchhofer (48) achieved the 19th and last victory of his career in Kvitfjell in 2011. «On this slope you need a particularly good sliding feeling. And I have the impression that Odermatt will only really have a feeling for the sliding corners this winter.” Will the 2003 downhill world champion bet big money on Odermatt ending his Kvitfjell curse with a 35th World Cup victory on Saturday? “Despite the strong development in gliding, I will never bet as much money on Odermatt before a Kvitfjell race as in Kitzbühel or Wengen. Not because this route is particularly sensitive to wind.”

Therefore, the original start would be particularly important for Odermatt

Blick expert Bernhard Russi also knows this, who built the slope in the far north in the late 1980s. “A wind often blows here that is difficult to calculate. For Odermatt, the most important thing will be that the race can be started from the original start. Otherwise he will miss two corners where he could make the difference with his excellent technique.”

But to the chagrin of the two-time overall World Cup winner, there are currently some indications that these two corners will be missing on Saturday. The first training had to be held from the reserve start due to fog. And because the weather forecast for Friday is not really good, there is little chance that training can take place in the upper part. This means that the race should also be started from the reserve start. «From above, Kvitfjell is a beautiful descent, but it is one of the easiest routes in the circus. If the only two technically demanding corners are eliminated, it will be very, very easy,” said Odermatt after finishing 23rd in training. One thing is clear: the easier a descent is, the larger the field for victory becomes.

Source : Blick