Debacle for ÖSV men

Downhill in Wengen from 12.30 p.m. LIVE

Marco Odermatt showed high-flyer Franjo von Allmen his limits on the Lauberhorn.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Marco Odermatt has impressively demonstrated his dominance in the legendary Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen. The 27-year-old also showed his compatriot and high-flyer Franjo von Allmen the limits (+0.37). The Slovenian Miha Hrobat surprised in third place (+0.57). It was a gloomy day for the ÖSV men. Vincent Kriechmayr crashed heavily and probably injured his knee. The rest of the team was far behind anyway. 

Marco Odermatt fought back and won a tough duel with Franjo von Allmen for victory in the downhill classic in Wengen. It would be the fourth Swiss double victory in the fourth downhill race of the season, with Miha Hrobat from Slovenia in third place after starting number 30. The Swiss folk festival on Saturday was overshadowed by a fall by ÖSV ace Vincent Kriechmayr, who is believed to have injured his right knee in the finish S. A diagnosis has yet to be made. A diagnosis is still pending.

Kriechmayr pushed it backwards in the sharp right-hand bend before the finish, whereupon he lost control and was unable to stay on his feet. The Upper Austrian hit the safety net hard, but was soon able to stand up on his own. He then slid visibly shaken and with abrasions on one leg to the finish, where he had to be supported and, according to head coach Marko Pfeifer, complained of pain in his right knee. "Of course it was a big fall. He took a hard line there," said Pfeifer. "I'm hoping for the best."

Vincent Kriechmayr

(Bild: Screenshot orf.at)

Kriechmayr, who had so far been spared serious injuries, was then flown to Innsbruck by helicopter. A precise diagnosis should be available in the evening. The race was interrupted for around 15 minutes after Kriechmayr's take-off. A short time later, Frenchman Blaise Giezendanner was also injured in a crash and caused the next interruption.

Odermatt unstoppable
At this point, Odermatt was already on the verge of his 43rd World Cup victory and third in Wengen in the supreme downhill discipline. After his disappointing seventh place in the super-G, the 27-year-old was skiing with a knife between his teeth. Von Allmen, Friday's super-G winner, had skied down directly in front of him and had taken two tenths of a second off Hrobat. Odermatt managed to be another 0.37 seconds faster with a brilliant run.

"15 seconds before my start, I heard lots and lots of Swiss people cheering, right next to the start house," said Odermatt, who also set a new course record of 2:22.58 minutes, on ORF television. "That somehow gave me a boost and showed me that anything is still possible." After his run, he shouted in the finish stadium: "This is my house!" (This is my house). For the Swiss men, it would be the ninth victory in this World Cup winter and the fifth time in total that two Swiss skiers have finished at the top.

Franjo von Allmen

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Von Allmen explained that he had tried to turn the experiences of the previous day into positive energy. "That worked quite well," said the 23-year-old. "Yesterday was actually a long day, with lots of emotions to process and one or two more appointments." For the Swiss men, it was their ninth victory this World Cup winter and the fifth time in total that two Swiss skiers have finished at the top.

Fierce wind before the start
The other Austrians had no say in the matter and caused disillusionment when looking at the results list. The best was Otmar Striedinger in 17th place (+2.39), the Carinthian was the only ÖSV athlete to finish in the top 20. Otherwise there were also World Cup points for Stefan Babinsky (21st/+2.76), Daniel Hemetsberger (28th/+2.93) and Stefan Rieser (30th/+2.95). Stefan Eichberger just missed out on the top 30 in 32nd place. The skiers competing for red-white-red only did worse in Wengen in 2009, when Georg Streitberger had to settle for 18th place as the ÖSV best.

The downhill started with a 15-minute delay after strong foehn winds had raged in the morning. There were snow drifts and infrastructure on the race course was damaged. In addition, the chairlift used by the athletes had to be shut down for some time.