Disappointed when the giant arrived on Saturday, Lara Gut-Behrami finally found something positive in her skiing after the race. For Camille Rast, there are still things to work on in the discipline.
It was not the Swiss women’s day on the Zauberberg, the “magic mountain” of Semmering on Saturday. Lara Gut-Behrami, already twice on the box here, seemed set for another top result before giving herself a scare in the second round and finishing 9th. Camille Rast, having scored a first podium at Killington a month ago, did not find the key on this track and finished 17th. Their colleagues finished further back or failed to qualify.
“Not a great second round,” summed up Lara Gut-Behrami after the race. “In the first gates, I hit a stone and I couldn’t hold my skis. I had the skis coming off under my feet. » Then the mistake, when she gets caught in a door and almost rolls over. She manages to catch up but loses precious hundredths of a second and ends the race with a bleeding nose, but fortunately without it apparently being too serious.
Skiing found
The Ticino resident, however, considers herself satisfied with her day. “I’m happy with the first run, it was the ski I was looking for. I was fluid again and felt really comfortable. »
“I take the skiing I found as a positive and too bad for the result, I would have liked to have done better. But we have Kranjska Gora in a week and I will try to follow up with the good skiing from the first round. »
Looking for the key
For Camille Rast, Saturday’s giant was proof that there are still things to work on, especially in her second discipline. “There is still a very big margin, I need a little more experience. On some types of trails I’m really clear, and on others I need a little more work. »
In Semmering, she “didn’t find the right key.” I made some very good turns, very green, and some very red turns. As a result, there was a bit of a lack of consistency and that’s what cost me a lot of time. »
Find the rhythm
While she was on a good run in November – a first podium in slalom, then in giant, then her first victory in the World Cup, all in the space of a week – the calendar imposed a break of a month without races between Killington and Semmering at Vetrozaine.
“It broke the rhythm a little,” she admitted. “But I think I also needed to recover. Now I’m starting the machine again and I can already say that my season is positive with these podiums. »
On Sunday, she will embark on the Semmering slalom with the red bib of the discipline on her back. “I’m going to do my best but I’m going without pressure. Just because I have a red bib on my shoulders doesn’t mean I have to do something different. » And who knows, maybe she will finally find the key she is looking for.
Sim Sim Wissgott, Semmering
