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Hinterstoder, Austria
March 11, 2000
Men's Giant Slalom
Christian Mayer and Hermann Maier left Hinterstoder great winners today: the first won his third race of the season and the other his second Overall World Cup title, after finishing 3rd in this demanding race. Terrible weather plagued the day, but didn't prevent 15,000 spectators from attending.
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Runner-up of the last World Ski Championships at Vail, Buechel was the only "outsider" to ski among the best Austrians — Andreas Schifferer was 4th, followed by Germany's Markus Eberle. Austrian Benjamin Raich, who is slowly recovering from his spectacular crash at Kranjska Gora, where he suffered a slight concussion, only finished in 10th.
But other favorites had even a harder time on the treacherous course, and many of them didn't enjoy the consistent rain and strong gusts of wind. Placing 14th, Switzerland's Michael von Gruenigen lost his last serious chance at surpassing Hermann Maier in the GS standings.
Joel Chenal from France was 22nd — a great disappointment after his two consecutive places on the podium in Yong Pyong and Kranjska Gora. He lost over three and a half seconds in the first run, when the wind was blowing particularly strong.
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| "I'm on a roll and I will go for a third consecutive win in Bormio next week. Hermann is almost out of reach now in the GS standings, but I want him to fight until the dead end...." — Christian Mayer (AUT) |
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American Erik Schlopy finished just behind him and will not qualify for the Finals at Bormio, which start on Monday. But Schlopy can be proud of his 76th position in the Overall World Cup rankings after his last World Cup race of the season. He has achieved a strong comeback this season with the US ski team, after spending several years on the pro tour. He was the best US skier behind Daron Rahlves, who placed 25th today.
Rahlves was already assured a spot in Bormio for the speed events, but he also hopes to start in the slalom if he passes the limit of 400 points, which would put him in the special start group behind first seed.
Thomas Vonn reached a promising 9th place in the first run, but he had some trouble finishing the second leg. He moved down to 27th position, just ahead of Finland's Sami Uotila, who finished his race on one ski.
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 Buechel |
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A Battle at the Top
Mayer against Maier: two racers who are not good friends and enjoy skiing at their limits. A stronger and more focused athlete, Maier has accumulated a series of incredible victories during the last three years but he knows that Mayer, the 1994 GS World Cup Champion, is very tough to beat.
Christian likes to call himself "the other Mayer" and was hoping to fight for his second GS title this winter. But it took him several weeks to find his best rhythm this season, which he eventually did at Saalbach, where he beat Maier and Raich a few days before Christmas. But there were no GS races in the following six weeks.
He was not moving at his usual level in Todtnau and Adelboden in February, and he also blew a good chance at Yong Pyong. Finally, he struck back last Wednesday on his "home run" at Kranjska Gora, only twenty minutes away from his home.
"This victory was a strong boost for my morale and my confidence and I knew that I could win again in Hinterstoder," he said. "I'm on a roll and I will go for a third consecutive win in Bormio next week. Hermann is almost out of reach now in the GS standings, but I want him to fight until the dead end. In fact, I aim for more at Bormio — there is a nice Ducati motorcycle for the skier who scores the most points during the week in Italy. I won a super G at the Finals in Spain last year and I have a good chance at scoring some points in slalom and downhill, if I race it. It will be fun."
A reckless skier, Mayer likes to take risks, and he's had some bad crashes while car racing. Fortunately, he calmed down since getting married two years ago. He also has a son who will turn 2 this summer.
Hermann Maier had mixed feelings about the day. On one hand, he was pleased to have clinched the Overall World Cup title for the second time, especially after being in the lead from the first to the last race. But on the other hand, he was frustrated that he was not able to challenge Mayer in this grueling competition.
"I had to make a tactical race today, especially since I wore bib #1," Maier explained. "The course conditions were very difficult and I wanted to make it safe through the finish line. Yet, it's quite hard to race when you have also to think about the GS and the Overall titles. I prefer to attack with full power — it's more exciting, too. This first run went fine, but I struggled in the second leg. I almost crashed out of the course and I was quite lucky to remain between the gates. It was a tough moment and I took more risks at the end to make up some time.
"But most important today was to score a maximum number of points. My position in the GS World Cup is stronger now than before and I'm proud to equal Karl Schranz in winning my second Overall Title. But I'm quite exhausted. It has been a long and hard winter for me because I always try so hard to win," Maier added.
"I guess I have accomplished something — twenty times on the podium this season. It could have been even more with some luck at various occasions. But I'm pleased because this is my third strong season in a row. I have made great progress in downhill and I handle the pressure better than before."
Maier is now only 180 points away from 2000 World Cup points - he "only" needs three spots on the podium in Bormio to reach it. "Well, I will try because it would be the icing on the cake, but it's not so important," he said. "It would also be nice to win a total of 10 races, as in the past, but nine is fine, too. I want to have a safe week in Italy and then have a great party which will last for weeks. I think I deserve it."
In April, Maier will be presented with the other World Cup winners from Bormio, Livigno, Santa Caterina (where all kinds of snow races will take place this week, including snowboard, freestyle and cross country) to his Highness, the Pope Jean Paul II, at the Vatican. "It will be, for sure, a very emotional moment," Maier said about this last February.
The first men's races at Bormio are the speed events - more chances for Daron Rahlves to prove himself to his European rivals. He has a strong possibility of finishing the Overall World Cup among the top 15, and would certainly enjoy going back home with a new motorcycle.
— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent