Hacker also delighted

Demonstration of power! Four ÖSV ladies in the lead

Carmen Spielberger, Nadine Fest, Leonie Zegg and Victoria Olivier (from left) ensured a quadruple victory for the ÖSV ladies.

(Bild: GEPA)

Rien ne va plus - nothing works anymore, was the motto on Sunday at the European Cup final of the downhill racers in Kvitfjell, Norway. Strong winds made the races impossible. So one thing is certain: Austria's ladies celebrated a quadruple victory in the overall standings and even a badly shaken Carinthian had reason to celebrate.

The European Cup women's downhill season was not under a good star - at least as far as the weather was concerned. The race calendar was already rather sparse with only seven events. Then, at the end of January, the double downhill in Sella Nevea (It) had to be canceled due to the weather. And on Sunday, the final in Kvitfjell was - quite literally - blown away by the wind. After several postponements and a relocation of the start to the Russi jump, the event finally had to be canceled. This meant that only four downhill runs were included in the ranking.

Nadine Fest won three of the four runs and came second once.

(Bild: MARCO BERTORELLO)

Carmen Spielberger celebrated her first EC victory, finishing on the podium in all four runs.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Victoria Olivier was the big surprise in her first full speed season, coming third in the overall standings.

(Bild: GEPA)

Fest, Spielberger and Olivier firmly in the World Cup
But they were all red-white-red festivals! Responsible for this: the two Carinthians Nadine Fest and Carmen Spielberger and the two Vorarlbergers Victoria Olivier and Leonie Zegg. Fest won three of the four downhill decisions, came second once and thus scored 380 of the 400 possible points. Spielberger triumphed once, took two second places and one third place, finishing second overall with 320 points. Third place was secured by Olivier, who came second and fourth in Zauchensee, took fifth and sixth place in St. Moritz (Sz) and collected a total of 215 points. Zegg took third place in Zauchensee, her first EC podium finish, and ended up in fourth place in the final standings with 136 points ex-aequo with Italy's Sara Allemand.

Ten out of twelve podium places went to Austria
The ÖSV ladies took ten of the twelve possible podium places, with only Switzerland's Janine Schmitt finishing third twice in her home races in St. Moritz. Fest, Spielberger and Olivier also secured fixed starting places for the 2025/26 World Cup season - independent of the national quota.

Injured Hacker was able to celebrate
The final men's downhill of the season also had to be canceled. After eight (of nine planned) decisions, Switzerland celebrated a double victory in the overall standings with Livio Hilbrand (366 points) and Alessio Miggiano (357). Carinthia's Felix Hacker was probably not unhappy about the cancellation. The 25-year-old, who tore his cruciate ligament in the final training run for the World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel in mid-January, remained in third place with 350 points - he had won three EC downhill races and finished fourth once before his injury - and thus also secured a permanent World Cup ticket for his comeback season. Switzerland's Gael Zulauf had to settle for fourth place, one point behind Hacker...