At the slalom in Madonna

ÖSV still dogged by bad luck and mishaps in the slalom

Manuel Feller was eliminated in Madonna - emblematic of the situation in the ÖSV slalom team

(Bild: GEPA/AP, GEPA)

A curious start hoppala almost proved to be Manuel Feller's undoing in the first run in Madonna di Campiglio. The ÖSV skier almost missed his signal.

Even after five slaloms, the ÖSV team still has no podium finishes to its name. Manuel Feller and Co. have so far failed to fulfill their potential in this Ski World Cup winter. So the subjunctive continues to reign - like on Wednesday evening in Madonna di Campiglio. Feller was extremely fast there and would probably have made it onto the podium had it not been for a breakdown. Marco Schwarz, who was struggling to catch up after his comeback, also dropped out.

Marco Schwarz

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Feller would have been only too happy to postpone Albert Popov's victory. He was still ahead at the last intermediate time before he was knocked down in the steep slope exit. "It's difficult to analyze what happened. All the pressure was gone within a millisecond, as if the ski imploded," said the Tyrolean. "It was my third failure in the slalom of the season, the giant slalom was - I can't find another word for it - shit anyway."

Hoppala, but "it's certainly not down to that"
Even before his start with the number one, not everything had gone smoothly. Feller almost missed his signal because he had changed the strap on his ski boot beforehand. "We have the transponder on the ski boot and the part where it is attached is on the strap. When we changed the strap, one of the threads was a little loose. Now it couldn't be put on," he explained. However, he immediately added: "It certainly wasn't that."

After just a few goals in the first round, Schwarz threaded in Madonna. "Very disappointed", was how the Carinthian succinctly described his state of mind afterwards. He has yet to achieve a top 30 result in the slalom after his injury break. "I actually trained well over Christmas and New Year, but it just wasn't meant to be." When asked whether he was at least without pain, he said: "Pain-free is always relative. I'm still a bit sore here and there, but we have two very good physios with us who always get me back on my feet."

Schwarz wants to "stay relaxed"
Nevertheless, the focus remains on the future. "You have to force your luck a bit, it will work out again afterwards," said Schwarz. On Thursday, he will "do a few slalom runs, clear my head a bit and then travel to Adelboden". The next slalom is scheduled there on Saturday. "Stay relaxed, that's the most important thing, don't tense up, even if the first races have gone down the drain. It's a tough way back, but I'll master that too."

Fabio Gstrein also finished tenth due to numerous retirements by competitors, making his second top ten finish after Gurgl, where he was ninth, a reality. "Of course you want to get further ahead, especially when you realize that it's possible," analyzed the Tyrolean, who was the best Austrian. Johannes Strolz finished eleventh, Dominik Raschner ended up in 13th place and Adrian Pertl came in 16th. "It's a shame that everyone didn't make it further forward," Gstrein summed up. "But that's skiing. You just need two consistent runs to make it work."