1/8
The only Swiss woman fighting at the top of the giant slalom: Lara Gut-Behrami.
Mathias Germannreporter sports
It’s almost paradoxical. Switzerland is as diversified in giant slalom as it has been for more than 20 years. And yet exactly this giant slalom two weeks before the World Cup in France (from February 6th) is the worry discipline of the women’s team. How is that possible?
Let’s go back a month. In the second giant slalom at Semmering (Austria), seven Swiss women classified themselves in the points: Lara Gut-Behrami (2nd), Wendy Holdener (15th), Andrea Ellenberger (16th), Simone Wild (23rd), Michelle Gisin ( 26th), Camille Rast (27th) and Corinne Suter (28th). «The more we are, the higher the quality in training. Everyone wants to be the fastest, the level rises automatically,” says Ellenberger. At the same time, one realizes that only Gut-Behrami is at the forefront. The Ticino was clearly the best Swiss in all six giant slaloms, and she even won in Killington (USA). But there was always a big gap behind her, only Wendy Holdener made it into the top 10 as tenth from Sestriere (It).
Holdener focuses on slalom
Holdener of all people is now doing without the last two giant slaloms before the World Cup. According to the communiqué, after Cortina’s (It) Super-G, she wants to “treat herself to a few days of regeneration” in order to concentrate on the slaloms at the weekend. This raises the question of whether the Schwyz native is not doing well – after all, she only drove one race in the last 13 days. “Yes, everything is tip top,” says women’s head coach Beat Tschuor. Holdener simply wants to prepare optimally for their parade discipline and the World Cup, “a sensible decision from my point of view,” says Tschuor.
What that means for Plan de Corones is clear: the view is directed even more towards Gut-Behrami than usual. An exploit by another Swiss woman would be surprising. Ellenberger is getting better and better, but missing a large part of the preparation still has an impact. Gisin and Rast, on the other hand, are still struggling with the setup of their new ski supplier Salomon. They are just as far away from the top of the world as those riders who push up from the European Cup. Ultimately means: Gut-Behrami has to fix it – again.
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!