Odermatt thinks it’s great, Maier doesn’t like it at all
Opinions are divided on the Lauberhorn for the Super-G
It’s the beauty of the skiing classics: Everyone has an opinion about them. This also applies to the Super-G on the Lauberhorn. In this matter, the ski legends tear each other particularly hard.
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A year ago, Marco Odermatt celebrated his victory in the Lauberhorn Super G.
Marcel W. Perrenski reporter
The Super-G on the Lauberhorn triggers a big controversy! The ski legends Marc Girardelli and Hermann Maier are particularly far apart in their views on this topic. But one after anonther.
Girardelli from Vorarlberg, who starts for Luxembourg, won the first World Cup Super G in Wengen in 1994. The fact that it took until last winter before the second race in this category was started at the foot of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau is acknowledged by five-time overall World Cup winner Girardelli with a shake of the head. “I can’t understand why after my success on this slope it hasn’t been a Super-G for so long. In my opinion, the terrain is predestined for this discipline.”
New start time for the Super-G
Due to the anything but ideal weather forecast for the Lauberhorn weekend, the organizers have made an adjustment to the program. The Super-G on Friday will now start half an hour earlier than planned. It starts at 12.00 p.m. and not at 12.30 p.m. as originally planned.
Due to the anything but ideal weather forecast for the Lauberhorn weekend, the organizers have made an adjustment to the program. The Super-G on Friday will now start half an hour earlier than planned. It starts at 12.00 p.m. and not at 12.30 p.m. as originally planned.
Maier is a Super G fan – but not in Wengen
With 24 individual victories and five overall victories, Hermann Maier is at the top of the all-time Super-G World Cup ranking. The mix of downhill and giant slalom still has a very special charm on the Herminator from the Salzburg region. “Unlike downhill, you can’t train on the race course. You have a viewing and then you have to use your instincts. That’s what makes this competition so interesting.”
The double Olympic champion from Nagano in 1998, who celebrated his 50th birthday on December 7th, is still a big Lauberhorn fan. But only from the downhill and the slalom. «I watched the Wengen Super G on TV last winter. And I didn’t like what I saw there.” The herminatory justification: «In my opinion, there are not enough opportunities to set a varied Super-G in this tube-like route. The absolute dream terrain for this discipline is in Beaver Creek. There are countless options for flagging out a course in a wide variety of variations. But not in Wengen.”
Odermatt has discovered the Lauberhorn for itself
Maier had dinner in Salzburg last summer with the man who triumphed in the second Super-G in Lauberhorn history. We are talking about Marco Odermatt. The Nidwaldner explained his point of view to Maier over a Wiener Schnitzel. “I was also very critical in the run-up to this race,” reveals the giant slalom Olympic champion. “But I have revised my opinion on the Lauberhorn Super G. Not because I won, but because I think the course setter did a very good job last winter. He has managed to incorporate a few nice “Biff-Baff” passages (swing on swing combinations, editor’s note). In addition, we had a maximum speed of 140 km/h that you don’t have in other Super-Gs. And that’s a really cool challenge.”
The six-time winner of the season is also pleading for another reason for the “Super-Giant” on the Lauberhorn to become a fixture on the World Cup calendar. «Wengen is a wonderful place with a fantastic audience. That’s why I’d rather drive a Super-G here a lot than in a place where there are hardly any spectators.” And with this argument, Odermatt even elicits a very brief nod from Hermann Maier.
Three races rescheduled
The men’s World Cup giant slalom from January 29 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which was canceled due to the unfavorable weather forecast and the lack of snow, will be held under floodlights in Schladming in Austria on January 25. A night slalom takes place the day before at the same location.
The Italian ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo will take over the canceled men’s Super Gs of Lake Louise and Val Gardena on January 28th and 29th. The departure in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which should have taken place on January 28th, will be canceled without replacement.
The men’s World Cup giant slalom from January 29 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which was canceled due to the unfavorable weather forecast and the lack of snow, will be held under floodlights in Schladming in Austria on January 25. A night slalom takes place the day before at the same location.
The Italian ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo will take over the canceled men’s Super Gs of Lake Louise and Val Gardena on January 28th and 29th. The departure in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which should have taken place on January 28th, will be canceled without replacement.
Attention ski fans! Now quiz and type races
The 2022/2023 ski season is in full swing and so is 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 in full swing and so is 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!