Lots of setbacks after injuries
The 30-year-old has struggled with several injury-related setbacks in recent years. On November 30, 2018, Dreßen fell in Beaver Creek – torn cruciate ligament, total damage to his right knee and damaged his hip. Exactly a year later to the day, he made a brilliant comeback in Lake Louise with his third World Cup success, and in the same season he followed up with two more victories. But the consequences of the fall kept catching up with him: between March 2020 and November, i.e. for two and a half years, Dreßen did not compete in any races, with the exception of the 2021 World Cup downhill.
First he had to have surgery on his hip, then repeatedly on his knee and his body went on strike more and more often. Last year he was only able to achieve a solid result with tenth place at the World Cup downhill in Courchevel and Méribel. At the end of the tight race, they were only 0.26 seconds short of a World Championship medal.
Five World Cup victories, five times on the podium
The speed specialist celebrated several comebacks, but never reached the class he once did. He celebrated his last World Cup victory in 2020 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in Austria. In the current season he was well behind the leaders. An 18th place in the Super-G in Val Gardena shortly before Christmas was the best result.
In Kitzbühel, Dreßen took part in the first training session on Tuesday, but he skipped the second one on Wednesday. In total he has five World Cup victories. He achieved the biggest and most emotional one in 2018 on the Streif, where he is now competing in his last race. He was on the podium five times. No German speed driver was more successful than him. The resignation of the most successful German speed skier hits the German Ski Association in the middle of a crisis for the speed team.