Where do you start after such a slalom? At the gymnastics lesson of Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, who followed the rides of the rivals sitting, crouching, jumping and with puffed cheeks – until there was no one left to beat his personal best? With AJ Ginnis, who once learned to ski on Mount Parnassus in Greece, Kaprun and in the USA, five years ago was no longer good enough for the American slalom team, on Sunday he won silver for Greece, his father’s homeland? With Linus Straßer’s tongue hanging out at the finish line? With Straßer’s teammate Sebastian Holzmann, who linked two such strong runs that he was even invited to the award ceremony, in fifth place, within spitting distance of the best?
Sunday was probably the most atmospheric day of this not exactly moody Ski World Championships in France. The finish area in Courchevel was overflowing with anticipation. The Austrians had brought horns with them, which apparently came from the Helms Klamm fortress from the book “The Lord of the Rings”. The French countered with roars and cowbells apparently borrowed from the Swiss.
The first run was simply flagged out, the best 20 drivers jostled each other within one (!) second, everyone could still win everything or give away everything, and that’s how the final classification read. Kristoffersen climbed from 16th place to win gold, his first world title in slalom, compatriot Lucas Braathen lost a gigantic lead. Ginnis defended the silver rank, the South Tyrolean Alex Vinatzer pushed his way onto the podium. And Sebastian Holzmann, 29, from SC Oberstdorf, bundled this roller coaster slalom aptly when he said “I will remember this forever.”
Straßer has a great opportunity – then he makes a “deadly” maneuver
From a German point of view, you still had to start with Strasser: For him, Courchevel was also a milestone on a journey that was not dissimilar to that of bronze medalist Lena Dürr. In the past two years, after tough winters, he had stuck his way to the top of the world; after a process “that also made me the person I am,” as he said before the race. Most recently, he had collected three World Cup victories on this trip, various visits to the podium, and most recently he had been working on the most difficult task: he not only wanted to be good on selected days, but as often as possible.
The previous World Cup winter appeared in this light as a run of improvement, in any case, Straßer was offered a very nice chance in Courchevel. In the first run he mixed the risk perfectly, 14 hundredths separated him from the half-time leader Manuel Feller, he was half a second ahead of the closest pursuers. Now his trainer Bernd Brunner, who had made Straßer’s driving style and head fit for the world’s best over the years, put in the second run, that’s how the lot wanted it. And Brunner served his protégé what he likes: the gates a bit further apart, turning, shaking and stirring. And then?
It drove Straßer off track a few times in the middle, a “deadly” maneuver (Straßer) when the goals are so far apart. His strength was reversed, eight tenths of a second credit on Kristoffersen turned into seven tenths behind – ninth place. “Everything’s fine the way it’s gone up to here, and everything’s fine the way it’s coming,” Straßer said before the run – even if the cold front of his first frustration, which he pushed on Sunday, initially suggested otherwise.
And so they ended up with Sebastian Holzmann, who almost joined the big surprise rides of this World Championship on Sunday. He made his World Cup debut in January 2014 and needed until the winter before last to slide into the advanced world class in slalom. Before the last Olympic winter, a tendon in his knee tore, the season was over early, “it was really a bitter time,” said Holzmann. But they had already laid the first pieces of the puzzle five or six years ago: with the trainers around Brunner, Andreas Omminger, Fritz Jodok and Hannes Wagner, with a change of ski outfitter, also with the knowledge of teammates Straßer and Alexander Schmid, who support future generations as much as possible. In any case, Holzmann built on that this winter: Three 18th places in Wengen, Kitzbühel and Schladming outlined the first contours of success. But now, fifth place in the World Championship slalom, only 24 hundredths behind bronze?
Ultimately, Holzmann had now implemented what head coach Christian Schwaiger had been demanding from the second guard for years: to be in the top 30 of the first run – like Holzmann on Sunday as 18th – then use the reverse starting order in the second run on a freshly ironed slope as a springboard, to jump to the top. “I threw everything in and was rewarded,” said Holzmann. It was the fitting punchline of this roller coaster slalom.