Patience required

Feller before the showdown: “You get all the conditions”

Manuel Feller would have liked to have taken the title with him from overseas(Bild: APA/AFP/Nikolay DOYCHINOV)

Linus Straßer is looking forward to annoying Manuel Feller a little more in the battle for the crystal globe for the slalom classification. The Tyrolean ski racer, however, would have liked to return home from the USA as the designated title holder. 

After his fifth place on Sunday in Aspen and Strasser's second place behind Swiss winner Loic Meillard, Feller still has a reassuring 169-point lead over his only remaining rival with two races to go.

Linus Straßer(Bild: AP)

After the slalom, Feller talked about his tense emotional state at the start. "You get all kinds of conditions. But it's cool for the ski fans to see a bit of a match," he said about the postponed decision. But it is a privilege to be in such a situation. "That's why I'm happy to accept it. It means another bit of trembling." Straßer has a similar view. "It's good for the spectators if there's still a bit of suspense." And in the hope that Feller will watch the ORF interview, he added with a grin: "Kranjska Gora and Saalbach are my two favorite slopes." That's where the final slaloms take place.

"He skis really well"
ÖSV head coach Marko Pfeifer explained that he had not expected the decision in Aspen due to Straßer's strong form. And that he was "very, very happy" with the result. "It's never easy when you're comfortably ahead and yet you know that it's only over when it's over. We give him the benefit of the doubt." Feller's worst result this season was fifth place. "He's skiing great, we're all confident that he'll bring it home. He should concentrate on skiing, then it will come automatically."

For the Austrian Ski Association, it would be the first men's World Cup trophy since 2021, when Marco Schwarz won the slalom and Vincent Kriechmayr the super-G. For the 31-year-old from Fieberbrunn, who won the silver medal in the slalom at the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz, it would be the biggest success of his career.

Scary moment on Friday
This winter, he won the gate runs in Gurgl, Adelboden, Wengen and Palisades Tahoe. "Palisades was a decisive victory at the right moment," said Pfeifer looking back. After three wins and a fifth place (Madonna di Campiglio), Feller had remained without a podium finish in Kitzbühel (4th), Schladming (5th) and Chamonix (4th) before heading to America.

In Aspen, Feller had to survive a scary second in the first giant slalom run on Friday, which strained his back, which had to be treated with care anyway. However, the athlete gave the all-clear immediately afterwards. A warm bath, lots of physiotherapy and a fitness test later, nothing stood in the way of the race. "It reacted a bit, but it's all within limits," said Feller. He had skipped the second giant slalom as planned.