Saslong Classic Club / Gardena - Gröden
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News

Racers are pleased with course conditions

14.12.2017

Matthias Mayer
It was quite tough today with the constant interruptions. Sometimes there was a bit of wind at the top and you did not know whether the training run was still going on or not. But we are used to these things after a few years in the World Cup. My leading time for training was a surprise for me. But in Val Gardena/Gröden, as we know from the past, everything is always possible. Tomorrow's Super-G, I'd like to place in the front: the motivation and the right materials are already there. The Norwegians would have to be beat as they have been dominating the Super-G here in recent years.

Otmar Striedinger
I was a little surprised to see the 2 flash in the finish. It was a long wait today at the start. I'm glad that I accomplished a good result, so I'm sure to get a starting place on Saturday. Of course the weather was not perfect today, but you have to be prepared for that. It's not the first time, after all. Would have been nicer if everything had run perfectly, but there isn’t anything you can do against the weather.

Werner Heel
Today I am a little bit more surprised than yesterday, even though I would have more likely expected it yesterday. But I am glad that it worked out so well today. The delayed start was pretty hard for me, mainly because of the weather; there was a constant back and forth: do we start, don’t we start etc. But despite the many interruptions and the poor visibility, I am very positive and looking forward to the weekend.

Dominik Paris
Yesterday I had a look at the line, today I gave it a bit more throttle - but for the race I would like to improve a few things. We found an aggressive snow in the upper part, that changed in the middle. I was in contact with the fog only a short time at the camel humps but it was not bad.

Hannes Reichelt
My training run was actually sobering. I always struggled a bit on this track, it's just very special. However, I hope that I can improve myself on the race. A compliment to the groomers, the track is in perfect condition - and that was not easy with the weather conditions of the last few days. I hope for good weather and fair conditions.

Eric Guay
Conditions are great, snow feels good under foot. My health is borderline, have some back problems, not 100% but am taking it day by day and hope to have a good race tomorrow. We are used to weather conditions changing with snow, wind, fog but you try to roll with it. It would be hard to be at the start right now and not know if and when it will start again so i’m glad i’m at the finish, can recover and get ready for tomorrow.

Kjetil Jansrud
First training run was easy, starting with bib 1 you never know about the track and the speed. Today I wanted to go fast, I was good on the top section but then got the yellow flag, so i couldn’t finish my second training run. Tomorrow is going to be exciting, the Super-G here is fantastic every year, lots of rolls and exciting and fun to ski. And then we’ll see on Saturday - I didn’t have a perfect warm-up but I’ve done this track a lot of times so I’m excited for that. The different conditions of top and bottom on the track is not optimal, but that was in the first training run and then it just gets faster and faster and you kind of know what to expect.

Peter Fill 
The slope is in good condition. In the upper part it is not very hard, but well prepared. I'm curious how the weather will be on the two race days - then it takes a bit of luck with the bib number choice. It is not the first time that I start here in Val Gardena/Gröden and I have always done my best. Unfortunately, it has not always worked out as I had wished. I hope it works on Saturday.

Steven Nyman
Obviously this has been a target of mine to make my comeback here. It’s where I feel comfortable, I know I can push, I know the track really well. Yesterday I skied very good sections - in the top 10 splits but today I messed up at the top, I was just being an idiot. I generally don’t put a lot of pressure on myself, but I’m obviously shooting for the Olympics. I will skip Bormio and instead train some more and come back to Wengen. I feel pretty confident, making good turns, just linking it together top to bottom and have that heightened focus and remain focused top to bottom.

Beat Feuz
Overall, the racetrack is in top condition. Of course, there is more snow than in recent years and you can tell that when skiing. Today the weather conditions were challenging; I hope it will be better in the race. The snow is very beautiful: aggressive at the top, icy at the bottom. After the long break, I did not expect to be able to ride the entire course. We were lucky. The Saslong is not exactly my favorite downhill course; I have never achieved more than an eighth place here. I would be more than satisfied with a top ten result. What happens with the Super-G is difficult to say. It is set by the Swiss coach, but of course there are several options, so you can not say anything in advance.

Aksel Lund Svindal
My training runs were not very good: the first was bad and today's a bit better. I had problems with my knee after Beaver Creek and now I have to get back into the racing rhythm. Unfortunately we had some bad luck with the fog today. In general, I am in quite good shape right now it’s just harder when I have to take a long break to come back after that. Now that I belong to the older set of racers, I notice that I get injured more often and recovery takes longer and often one doesn’t get back all the way to how it was before the injury. But I have done a lot of great racing so it’s ok.

Josef Ferstl
Today I had to wait a long time before my second training run - one and a half hours until I could even start. The racetrack is great, although the visibility wasn’t so good. I'm equally strong in the Super-G and in the downhill, the difference is that I was able to implement the training performance in the Super-G, unfortunately not yet in the downhill. We Germans are a great team with Andy and Thomas. The three of us are about the same level and have to try to carry that into the race. Sometimes it works, too, as we have seen yesterday with Thomas. Maybe it will work for me tomorrow or on Saturday.