Emma Aicher celebrates the first World Cup victory in Kvitfjell

At the end of the weekend, Emma Aicher also demonstrated that it is not too easy to ski in Kvitfjell. Like a memory that it is one of the most difficult world cup lines, her faulty journey worked on Sunday afternoon. Once again, the route drove with Aicher and not the other way around, in the end she missed a goal and retired – and set a small memorial at the final for the weekend when her star in the Ski World Cup had finally risen.

A failure on Sunday was too painful, after second place in the departure on Friday, at which Aicher had given her premiere on a World Cup podium. And especially after the following ascent to the top podium on Sunday, in your first World Cup victory. Somehow everyone had expected, just not Aicher himself. “Very surprised” she was at the finish line, she said later. Her second departure in Kvitfjell was not as well done as the first, but “apparently I met the places where you could take Speed ​​with you”.

The post-hiffrin generation has long since arrived and ready to take over the baton

This episode also tells a bit about the existence of Emma Aicher in this World Cup season, which can be explained well with perception and self-assessment. Aicher has been considered one of the greatest talents for years, she knows this very well. As an all -rounder, she therefore tries to make the impossible possible and at the same time drive in all disciplines. She kept her status as a great talent this year, only at the same time the many other young characters drove forward so far that it sometimes seemed as if Aicher had a few steps behind.

Lara Colturi from Albania, Zrinka Ljutic from Croatia, Camille Rast from Switzerland, Lauren Macuga from the USA, they have all won their first World Cup titles in the past few months or at least made it on the podium. The post-hiffrin generation has long since arrived and ready to take over the baton. Sometimes she is only difficult when an experienced athlete like Federica Brignone, 36, discovered spring in late autumn her career and rose to top form, as again on Sunday in Kvitfjell, when the Italian was able to expand her lead in the overall World Cup. Aicher is also part of this new, young group-and since Saturday she has now left the candidate status.

It is a new world that the 21-year-old now opens, especially at the national level. German skiing has been desperately looking for new faces that are not only talented, but also successful. The last victory in the descent won Viktoria Rebensburg in 2020, for men it was Thomas Dreßen in the same year. Not much has happened since then. If it weren’t for the classic victories of Linus Straßer and the regular podium placements by Lena Dürr, the team crisis would be much more clearly seen in the list of results. It is therefore enough that Kira Weidel-Winkelmann, 29, found the victory of her colleague, who was eight years younger, “very inspiring”.

Aicher has put up her talent status, and she now also has the challenging task of specifying the sound in German skiing. Skiing, of course, it is still difficult in words – Aicher is still not the born speaker, but a skier who is successful in all disciplines as from Saturday. Perhaps currently even more in the speed area than in the technical disciplines, where a wide field of drivers are applying for victories and the role of favorites is not always clear.

The 21-year-old should not work with words, but with deeds, as before: The announcement made years ago that she will penetrate into the top of the world in Kvitfjell has implemented it into reality.