As of: November 24, 2024 11:35 a.m
Ski racer Linus Straßer had a bad day at the slalom in Gurgl. The 32-year-old couldn’t cope with the slopes at all and missed the second run. His DSV colleagues also didn’t make it into the top 30. The Frenchman Clement Noel did better, going into the decision with almost a second lead.
Linus Straßer opened the race and starting number one turned out to be a big burden for the 32-year-old. After his seventh place in Levi last weekend, he wanted to do better. But the man from TSV 1860 Munich made a few mistakes on the steep slope. The turning course caused problems for Straßer.
No DSV driver in the second round
“It was really bitter because I realized at the top that I was just following the skis,” commented Straßer on the ARD microphone. “Until the last goal I tried to make sure I could somehow stay in it, but it wasn’t any fun.” He wants to “get the weekend over and done with” quickly.
Sebastian Holzmann completed the competition, which from a German perspective was botched. The Oberstdorfer was almost three tenths faster than Straßer, but this time wasn’t enough to be allowed to compete again. A little later, Anton Tremmel also missed the second run. In the end he was a hundredth short of the Swiss Ramon Zenhäuser. Because Alexander Schmid only came 41st, no DSV driver was represented in the second run.
Clement Noel in his own league
Clement Noel from France showed how you can conquer the Kirchenkarpiste. The winner from Levi proved once again that he is currently in a league of his own. He crossed the finish line with a lead of over three seconds over Straßer and set a mark that no runner would be able to surpass in the first run. He admitted in the ARD interview that he didn’t feel so good. “It was really hard. The ice was very slippery.” He attributed his lead to the fact that the competition made more mistakes.
The Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath (+0.88) came closest, but he still went into the second round almost nine tenths of a second behind. Noel’s compatriot Steven Amiez is third after the first run (+0.94).
Feller’s misery continues
Manuel Feller had an even more modest run than Straßer. The Austrian, who had already been eliminated in the second round in Levi, did not finish in Gurgl either. A completely botched start to the winter for the defending champions.
The new Brazilian Lucas Braathen also risked too much and was also eliminated. And the other returnee, Marcel Hirscher, who described the race in Levi as the worst of his career, also failed to finish.
