Ski ticker:

Second training in Kitzbühel – LIVE from 11.30 am

Stefan Babinsky came second in training on Tuesday.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The current week is all about the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel. Another training session is scheduled for today, we will be reporting live from 11.30 am - see ticker below. 

Here are the intermediate results:

Austria's speed racers have traveled to the Hahnenkamm races without Vincent Kriechmayr. While the Upper Austrian is worried about his participation in the World Ski Championships after suffering a pulled inner ligament in his right knee in Wengen, his teammates, who have fallen far short of expectations this season, are trying to adopt a "now first" mentality. "Why can't we turn things around in Kitzbühel?" asked Otmar Striedinger. "We actually know how to do it," said Daniel Hemetsberger.

Without a place on the podium in the downhill and with the home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in sight, the alarm bells are ringing everywhere. "I'm convinced that we'll get out of it. The key is to get up more often than we fall down," said 28-year-old Stefan Babinsky, whose best result of the season is 15th place. Vince is missing, of course, but there is a lot to learn from his professional work. You certainly have to face criticism, but: "The important thing is that we do our thing now and concentrate on ourselves. I am convinced that I can do it and that I have the potential."

Daniel Hemetsberger

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

In eleventh place in Bormio, Hemetsberger was close to the top 10, he sees the pressure from outside growing even more due to Kriechmayr's absence. "We can only give it everything we've got and see what happens. He's leaving us, but in the end we have to make sure we have our seven things together and ski down as quickly as possible. We actually know how to do that."

Striedinger is his own biggest critic
For Striedinger, who is 33 and the same age, the smartest thing to do in view of what is currently "hitting the team is not to consume any media". His biggest critic is himself, said the Carinthian, who has not yet finished higher than 17th this winter. "I analyze every race and question myself every day. You also sit down as a team and look for the building block that's missing." They don't yet know where to find it.

He expects team leader Kriechmayr to return as soon as possible. "It won't be long before he's back," said Striedinger. "For Vinc personally, it's incredibly bitter that he's not here. You can see how quickly things can happen in our sport, the day before you're on the podium, the next day you're in hospital."

Kitzbühel as a chance for the boys to get a World Championship ticket
But the downhill season had also been tough for 2021 double World Champion Kriechmayr, who finished fifth in Beaver Creek and eighth in Bormio. Alongside him, only Stefan Eichberger finished in the top ten in Val Gardena/Gröden in sixth place. The 24-year-old is part of a young squad that can still take their chance in Kitzbühel with a view to a World Championship nomination.

This also includes Felix Hacker (25), who won the super-G on the Reiteralm on Monday and celebrated his fourth victory of the season in the European Cup. "I'm relaxed at the moment, I have good self-confidence. I'm really motivated and think it can be something good this weekend. I love the icy, difficult and steep slopes like Bormio and Kitz, that's right up my street."