The ÖSV men are mediocre, the Alpine boss is reassuring

Stones in the way

Mind you, there were extenuating circumstances for Manuel Feller in Alta Badia. Last winter’s slalom World Cup winner had recently been struggling with a gastrointestinal virus and back problems and even considered skipping the races in Alta Badia. “Every other week there is another obstacle in the way,” explained Feller, who at least finished 4th and 7th in the slalom. In the giant slalom, he has exactly zero points after four races this season. “It’s disastrous anyway.”

The serious crisis facing ski men cannot be glossed over or denied. After the first twelve races of the season, the team only has five (!) top 5 positions. The proud ski nation has now been demoted to fourth place in the country rankings, and the view of the overall World Cup is even more devastating. The best Austrian (Patrick Feurstein) finds himself in 18th place – runners from eight nations are ahead of him.

These are not rosy prospects for the home World Cup in six weeks. But as ÖSV head coach Marko Pfeifer said these days in Val Gardena: “We can’t conjure up the runners.”