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The provisional calendar for the coming Alpine winter is downright cursed by many team leaders. In particular the date for the speed kick-off on November 11 and 12 in Zermatt-Cervinia. “For alpine skiing, this plan is an unmitigated disaster,” grumbles Austria head coach Sepp Brunner.
Where’s the problem? Consecutive. Last year, the first descent of the Matterhorn had to be canceled at the end of October due to lack of snow. That is why the FIS wants to hold the two men’s races starting in Switzerland and finishing in Italy on the second weekend of November.
Sepp Brunner explains why this plan gives him bile: “Usually in the second week of November we fly to Copper Mountain in the US, where we have been able to train optimally for about two weeks in perfect conditions over the past two weeks. This block would be especially important to us because speed training is being neglected in the summer due to the accelerating melting of the glaciers. Due to the new date for the Matterhorn races, this base camp is now in danger of being canceled completely.”
“It’s getting really dangerous!”
After the World Cup premiere on the Matterhorn, there is probably no time left for a business trip to the ski training mecca Colorado, because ten days later the first training for the next World Cup descent is scheduled in Lake Louise, Canada.
“We continue to discuss how we can make downhill racing safer. But if the young athletes can no longer properly prepare for the competitions, as in the case of this plan, it will be really dangerous,” Brunner fears.
German alpine director Wolfgang Maier shares the Austrian’s reservations, stating that “at the World Cup final in Andorra, with the exception of Switzerland, all countries have spoken against this date for the Zermatt races. But because the leadership of the FIS if you will, our resistance is clearly futile.”
The Swiss team boss is against it
Swiss ski head coach Tom Stauffer shakes his head when faced with the complaints of his professional colleagues from abroad. “I don’t hear that whining anymore,” moans the Bernese Oberlander. “The same people who complain about too few races when two competitions are canceled complain about too much stress when an extra World Cup station is added – I can’t take that seriously.”
Stauffer’s attitude is therefore pragmatic: “As soon as the World Cup calendar is available, it is my job as a trainer to coordinate the preparation as optimally as possible. And sometimes you just have to focus differently than in previous years. In addition, the people from Zermatt all teams a training opportunity in the run-up to the race.”
Huge artificial snow depot
DSV man Wolfgang Maier is not convinced by this argument. “The three or four training days we are allowed to train in Zermatt in November certainly don’t outweigh the 14 days we would have at Copper Mountain this time of year.” And Austria coach Brunner concludes: “I am very much in favor of the idea of holding World Cup competitions at the foot of the Matterhorn. But not in November, but at the end of the season in March.”
But a spring race is also out of the question for the people from Zermatt, because it doesn’t have the same marketing effect as the first descent of the season is likely to have. And so that the fast start in the Matterhorn region does not fail this year due to a lack of snow, the organizers have already produced a lot of white gold in advance. According to insiders, about 300,000 cubic meters of artificial snow is stored in the Zermatt depot.
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.
