"Personal goal"

Assinger: Nations Cup? “Not wuascht for me”

Roland Assinger(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Austria's speed women wave it off with a laugh, but head coach Roland Assinger, like former ÖSV boss Peter Schröcksnadel, has no sense of humor in the hotly contested Alpine Nations Cup. "I understand that they don't care as individual athletes. But for me it's not. This duel with Switzerland has always been an issue and that is my personal goal." The ÖSV women are defending a narrow lead ahead of the last two races of the season in Saalbach.

With 4,579 World Cup points, the Austrians are 43 ahead of the Swiss women - and thus on course to bring the ranking "home" again after a year's break. At least for the women, because the train has long since left the station in Switzerland's favor across the genders and among the men. Since 2020, the Women's Nations Cup has been a challenge cup, which Austria has only won once (2022).

"A topic for the upper echelons"
Whether you ask Cornelia Hütter, Stephanie Venier or Mirjam Puchner, the Nations Cup is nothing more than a side note for the Austrians. "It's a topic for Roswitha (Stadlober), Roland (Assinger), the upper echelons," said Hütter. Of course it shows that "we speed girls - we've also taken a step forward with the technicians - appear as a broad group". Assinger, meanwhile, is desperate for a prestigious victory at the end of his first season as head coach, which, according to him, would say one thing above all: "That we are better than the Swiss."