Sporting crash

Luitz on the ground: “Let’s see what happens next”

There's no stopping Stefan Luitz's downhill slide this season. The German is not allowed to compete in the giant slalom in Aspen on Saturday (from 6 pm). The reason: he has dropped out of the top 60 in the discipline rankings. The 31-year-old is desperate and has left his future in the ski circus open. 

"No more races for me in Aspen," Luiz writes on Instagram. North America was actually good ground for the German. He celebrated his only World Cup success to date in Beaver Creek in 2018. Now, however, his sporting future is written in the stars.

Because behind the 31-year-old lies a season to forget. At the start of the season, he crashed and tore his syndesmosis ligament. This was followed by a tough battle to return to the World Cup. Most recently, he missed the second round in Adelboden, Schladming, Bansko and Palisades Tahoe. 

End of his skiing career?
As a result, he has also dropped out of the top 60 in the giant slalom rankings. He has even dropped to 167th place in the FIS points list. This means Luitz is not eligible to compete in the race in Aspen. The sting is deep for the Bavarian - he himself doesn't know what to do next: "Let's see how the journey continues," he remarks on Instagram. 

At least there have been some happy moments in his private life recently. On New Year's Day, the 31-year-old announced that he was going to be a father for the second time.