After the downhill thriller

“I will always find those four hundredths”

"If you only look at this race and the four hundredths that I missed to win, it's of course a shame," said Magdalena Egger after finishing second in the downhill at the European Cup final in Kvitfjell (Nor), just 0.04 seconds - the equivalent of 1.27 meters - behind the South Tyrolean Nadia Delago. "I will always find this gap in the analysis."

Four hundredths of a second, which not only prevented the 23-year-old from winning her first European Cup, but also third place in the EC discipline ranking. As "Mäggy" only received 80 points for second place instead of the 100 points for victory, she finished fourth in the final standings, nine points behind France's Karen Clement - who came sixth yesterday. "The overall standings reflect the whole season," explained the army athlete. "And it just wasn't enough. I could have won a fixed ticket in the last race, but I certainly didn't lose or gamble anything with this second place."

Learned a lot, made a step forward
Especially as it was a comeback season for Egger after a knee injury in January 2023, which forced her to end the season prematurely last winter. "I got to know new courses such as Kvitfjell and Crans Montana, gained experience and felt like I took a step forward," says the head skier, analyzing her past downhill winter.

Another chance in the super-G awaits
Moreover, when it comes to a permanent World Cup ticket for the 2024/25 season, there is still a long way to go for "Mäggy". Because ahead of today's super-G (10 a.m.), she is in fifth place in the discipline rankings with 154 points. She is only 28 points behind third-placed Vicky Bernardi (It). "It's all very close together. Both towards the front and the back," says Egger. "I just have to ski well again, that's more useful than just calculating."

Battle for overall victory on the home straight
Emily Schöpf doesn't want to calculate either. The skier from Tschagguns, who came eighth yesterday after two mistakes and was honored as the winner of the downhill classification, is six points behind Clement in the overall standings ahead of the final race. "Whoever comes out on top in the super-G will also win the European Cup," the 23-year-old is convinced. "But if I manage that, it would only be a bonus."