“A terrible feeling”: Feller has difficulty calculating the slalom ball

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Manuel Feller (31) is the best slalom skier at the World Cup this winter. In all nine races he was never worse than fifth and won four times. His Austrian compatriot Marcel Hirscher (34) recently celebrated so many victories in one winter. In the 2018/19 season he even won five slaloms.

Yet the ball is not clear yet. And that bothers Feller. The calculations surrounding the discipline rankings have been a “constant pressure on the skull for months,” he says, according to “Krone”. “It’s a terrible feeling to be at the start like this, you get all kinds of circumstances.”

Survive jet lag and attack

And that despite the fact that Feller’s lead was comfortable. For the last two races he is 169 points ahead of second-placed Linus Strasser (31). If Feller remains consistent, the German only has a theoretical chance of getting the ball. “On paper it’s still possible – he can’t leave it out completely,” says Strasser with a wink. But he also knows that an eighth place in the penultimate race is enough for Feller to secure the first crystal ball of his career.

Back in Europe, Feller says, “Now it’s important to get through the jet lag and then attack.” He wants to do it on Sunday in Kransjka Gora, even though he thinks it is cool for the fans that it is still a bit exciting.

However, the question is whether the race can continue. Because the temperatures are also spring-like in Slovenia. The slopes are largely green, the World Cup slope meanders into the valley like a white ribbon. The snow check has not yet taken place and it will decide whether Kranjska Gora gets the green light. If the slalom is canceled, it would be the third event to be canceled this winter after Chamonix (Fr) and Bansko (Bul).

This would be good news for Feller, because the calculation would be over. On the bench he took the ball – not least the first for the Austrian men since 2021, when Marco Schwarz (28) won the slalom and Vincent Kriechmayr (32) won the Super-G crystal. Although Feller would certainly prefer to do that with a different race. (beer)

Source : Blick