Time out after slalom
Holdener does not return home and stays in Vienna
Wendy Holdener (29) misses the podium after two slalom victories, she finishes fifth. Their teammates Gisin, Rast and Danioth follow them.
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Wendy Holdener shows strong swings in Semmering. But they are not good enough to win.
Mathias Germannreporter sports
After 105 slaloms without a win, Wendy Holdener finally redeemed herself, she won twice. The classic ketchup effect – if it works, then it works. On the Hirschenkogel above Semmering, the third triumph in a row got stuck in the bottle, Holdener finished fifth. “I’m neither disappointed nor euphoric,” she says.
In the next slalom, Holdener will no longer wear the red jersey of the leader in the slalom classification. From now on, this belongs entirely to Mikaela Shiffrin (27, USA), who manages the Semmering triple and, after two giant slaloms, is also the fastest in the pole forest. That’s not surprising, but it’s remarkable anyway – Shiffrin is currently floating on ski cloud seven. She now has 80 World Cup victories under her belt, five short of Ingemar Stenmark’s record (85 victories). The US double victory is also historic – Paula Moltzan (28) is second. Two Americans in the lead in the slalom classification? The last time that happened was in 1971 when Marilyn Cochran beat her sister Barbara Ann.
Holdener isn’t going home
Back to Holdener. What was missing compared to your last winning races? “I didn’t feel very comfortable, I didn’t show enough great swings. While the others took full risks, I wasn’t too relaxed about it.”
The fact is: Both the spring-like snow and the little rhythmic courses were not made for Holdener. Instead of going home, she will spend New Year’s Eve with her family in Vienna (Austria). “I’m looking forward to it, it’s a change. I will not go sightseeing, but relax and enjoy the time.” Then we continue with slalom training before Holdener drives to Zagreb (Kro) to the next slaloms.
Gisin: “I’m frustrated”
While Holdener has mixed feelings after the slalom, the other Swiss women are clearly – clearly bad. Michelle Gisin (20th) makes mistakes after mistakes. “I am frustrated. I won here two years ago, now I’ve been trying to bring out those memories. But little worked out, the situation is extremely difficult.”
Like Gisin, Camille Rast (24th) is still looking for the perfect setup on her new Salomon skis. “I really have to find solutions to get fast,” she says. With place 26, Aline Danioth is classified even further down. The woman from Uri analyses: “Today I was using new skis that I had never used in the race. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve never really felt comfortable on the choppy snow.”
Attention ski fans! Now quiz and type races
The 2022/2023 ski season is coming up and with it the “Blick Ski Trophy”: answer questions every day, type ski races and crown yourself as ski champion. Lots of great prizes await.
To take part in the “Blick Ski Trophy”, you have to register here.
Have fun and good luck!
The 2022/2023 ski season is coming up and with it the “Blick Ski Trophy”: answer questions every day, type ski races and crown yourself as ski champion. Lots of great prizes await.
To take part in the “Blick Ski Trophy”, you have to register here.
Have fun and good luck!