Men return to Levi – Zenhäuser: “In training, 70 athletes can set the best time …” – Sport

The alpine men had to be patient for 5 seasons, now Levi is back in the racing calendar and is the slalom start to the winter. In the far north of Finland there is “a special atmosphere,” as Daniel Yule describes it. Frosty temperatures, white snowy landscapes and the “cleanest air in the inhabited world” that the venue itself boasts of.

“I’ve missed it a bit in recent years,” Yule admits. The 31-year-old from Valais also has good memories of Levi from a sporting perspective: at the last event in 2019, he made it onto the podium in third place, right in front of his colleague Ramon Zenhäuser.

Zen houses with a strengthened back

The second experienced Valaisan in the Swiss team is also in good spirits for Sunday. In recent seasons, Zenhäuser had repeatedly been thwarted by his own back, but that is now history. “The body cooperates, I haven’t had any back pain since the end of last season.”

The 2-meter man is satisfied with his preparation, but puts things into perspective at the same time. “I did well, but training doesn’t mean anything,” said the 32-year-old. “This always surprises me: 70 athletes can set the best time in slalom training, but in the race it’s completely different.”

According to her own statement, Yule is not one of these 70. “The preparation went well, but I’m still not the fastest in training,” says the seven-time World Cup winner with a laugh. “Hopefully I can turn that around in the race.” He always manages to find that one extra gear during the race.

Feller: “I’m not the slalom king”

170 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, unsurprisingly, the temperatures are predominantly below zero, so the “Levi Black” piste is mostly pimple-hard and icy, but comparatively easy. Yule loves the Finnish slope, Zenhäuser is more ambivalent. With his relatively high starting number close to 30, depending on the conditions, “the piste could limit the performance somewhat”.

In the selective discipline of slalom there are often the most winners of the season and the field at the top is broad. Last winter, Manuel Feller impressively broke this trend with 4 triumphs. But for the 32-year-old Austrian, that’s a thing of the past. “You start from scratch again,” he said Kronezeitung. “I don’t see myself as a slalom king.”