Drudgery in Levi

Hirscher: “That was almost enough to make me sick!”

Marcel Hirscher really struggled with the ice slope in Levi.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Levi was not worth the trip for Marcel Hirscher from a sporting point of view. The eight-time overall World Cup winner, who races for the Netherlands, clearly missed out on qualifying for the slalom final in 46th place (+2.59 seconds) on the icy ground on Sunday. "It was a fight for survival and actually almost enough to make me sick," said Hirscher.

"I thought in the first gates that it would go well anyway. But then it quickly degenerated into one of the worst slalom runs of my life," said Hirscher on ORF after his slide.

Marcel Hirscher(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Hirscher speaks of "drudgery"
"It was a mess and not what I had hoped for." Like other outfitters, Hirscher also made a mistake with his Van Deer skis in the set-up. What remains? "Beautiful days, the reindeer and the far north will remain in my memory. We'll take home to Austria the fact that we were way off the mark on the ice," he remarked smugly.

The Salzburg native did not show any great disappointment, if there was any, in the mixed zone. "Many top athletes had problems. Bare ice like this is almost a bit new to me." He felt like a passenger. "It was a fight for survival and actually almost a pleasure."

Until next Sunday, when the second slalom of the season takes place in Gurgl in Ötztal, Hirscher will be "searching for grip". A lot has to change before then. "Now the phones will be ringing off the hook about what we're going to do over the next few days. Where do we train and how? What are the conditions like in Gurgl? Is it that icy there too?" explained Hirscher.

Charity campaign
His Levi racing suit is now going under the hammer for a charity campaign organized by Austrian sports aid. "I hope that we can raise as much money as possible for this good cause," said Hirscher. The item is up for auction at www.the-mountain-studio.com until November 20, 9.00 am.