Schmid is waiting in the giant slalom in Schladming

Alexander Schmid is on his way to making the top 10 in the night giant slalom in Schladming. He can also attack the platform. Swiss Meillard is clearly ahead in the absence of the best giant slalom driver.

Switzerland’s Loic Meillard gets an almost perfect starting position in the night giant slalom in Schladming. The fifth-placed rider from the previous day had better handling of the icy slope back on Planai and led the best line, especially on the technically demanding lower section of the road. Compatriot Gino Caviezel only managed to stay at the halfway point, but he was already 0.64 seconds behind before the final run. Henrik Kristofferson is currently third (+1.06 seconds).

Schmid is still within walking distance

Alexander Schmid had already lost a few tenths of a second in the long flat section after the start, but he managed to keep the gap within limits in the fast-spinning lower section and at halftime he was seventh, 0.76 seconds behind the podium. He is 1.82 seconds shorter than Millard. “I’m not upset all thissmith said,I managed to do what I set out to do. For the second round, I know exactly what I have to do. There is still a lot. “

Stefan Luitz is still in top form after his disc injury last year. At the top, he drove the gates too tight and couldn’t set the turns smoothly. There were also some bugs on the final downhill. He reached twenty-ninth (+3.36 seconds) shuddering only in the second round. On the other hand, other DSV starters missed this. Fabian Gratz came 35th (+3.56s), finished 49th, 4.55s down, and Linus Strasser, who had crashed out of the slalom the day before with less than two seconds of driving, finished 54th (+4.85s) ahead of Julian Rauchfuss (+4.89 seconds).

Odermatt resigns after injury

The formerly notable giant slalom driver has never had a winter start. Marco Odermatt was supposed to start the race in second place, but decided not to start in Schladming after he was injured in Kitzbühel. With much skill he was able to avoid falling onto Streif, but injured his knee in the process. The Swiss have won four of the previous five giant slalom races.

Schladming instead of Garmisch

In fact, the sixth giant slalom of the season was supposed to take place in Kandahar in Garmisch-Partenkirchen next weekend. However, the event was canceled due to a lack of snow and an “unfavorable weather forecast”. So, Schladming – where only night slaloms are held – came in the second race.