After Semmering start

ÖSV talent gets another chance in Slovenia

ÖSV talent Victoria Olivier.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"I'm very grateful that I've been given the chance to compete in the race in Kranjska Gora after the giant slalom in Semmering," said a beaming Victoria Olivier after finding out that she will be making her third World Cup start in Slovenia on Saturday (9.30 a.m./12.30 p.m.). The 20-year-old has big plans for this event.

In Semmering, she finished 51st after the first run, 0.95 seconds short of qualifying for the final of the top 30. Something that didn't really upset the 20-year-old from Au. "My skiing performance was still okay in the upper section of the course," analyzed "Vici", who had celebrated the turn of the year with friends in Dornbirn. "In the lower section, there were just too many mistakes - something you simply can't afford to make in the World Cup." She wants to do better on the legendary Podkoren piste: "If I manage to avoid the mistakes from Semmering, I think something good can come out of it." In plain language: a place in the final. "Of course, qualifying is always the goal."

In Semmering, Victoria finished 51st, missing out on qualifying for the final by 0.95 seconds.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Nevertheless, the 20-year-old was pleased to have gained a lot of experience.(Bild: GEPA)

In Kranjska Gora, Olivier wants to avoid the mistakes of Semmering.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

In a promising position
After the race in Kranjska Gora, the head skier will definitely be heading back to the European Cup. "That's still my main focus this winter," confirms the reigning junior downhill world champion, who took her first European Cup victory in the giant slalom in Hippach in December and then also caused a sensation with top 6 results in the downhill and super-G. This means that after the first quarter of the season - nine of 36 races have been completed - Vici is in second place in the overall standings with 268 points, just 89 points behind Switzerland's Janine Schmitt. "As I raced my last EC race to date on December 13 and the next event is not until January 10, the World Cup starts fit in perfectly," says Olivier happily. "I'm grateful to be able to have this experience. It's the only way I can continue to develop."