Who will follow Graf?

skicross

Claudio Andreatta (l.) and Nicolas Lussnig (r.) secured tickets for the World Cup opener in Val Thorens next week.(Bild: Ski Austria/Thomas Zangerl)

Who will be Vorarlberg's new number one in ski cross following Mathias Graf's retirement? Two Ländle youngsters have already qualified for next week's World Cup opener in Val Thorens, France, putting them in a strong position. Things are not looking so good for the women - due to injury

"I hope that we get a breath of fresh air in the team," says Markus Gutenbrunner, Race Director of the ÖSV ski crossers, for whom the World Cup season starts next week with the classic race in the French ski resort of Val Thorens. After Vorarlberg's ski cross figurehead Mathias Graf announced his retirement at the end of the summer and veteran Robert Winkler also put his skis in the cellar, a total of three starting places in the red-white-red team were vacant. Two of them were secured by athletes from Vorarlberg, Claudio Andreatta and Nicolas Lussnig.

"It's very cool that it worked out," said the delighted duo, who have already made a few World Cup starts in the past. "We used the start training sessions in Sölden as well as the days in Pitztal and the recent races in Sweden for the qualifiers," reveals Gutenbrunner, who hopes that the youngsters can "give the established skiers around Johannes Rohrweck or Adam Kappacher a run for their money" - as was already the case in some of the training sessions.

Nicolas Lussnig presented himself very well in preparation.(Bild: Ski Austria/Thomas Zangerl)

Claudio Andreatta has also recommended himself for the red-white-red World Cup team in recent weeks.(Bild: Ski Austria/Thomas Zangerl)

In the internal duels, the two from Vorarlberg were among the front runners.(Bild: Ski Austria/Thomas Zangerl)

Qualification as a goal
"It didn't go too badly," says Lussnig. "Of course, the first goal is always to qualify for the final heats." An expectation that Andreatta also shares. "If we manage that, we'll see what happens. Although it would be cool to get through one or two rounds."

Gigler and Lussnig convalescent
There won't be anyone from Vorarlberg competing in the women's race in Val Thorens. Sonja Gigler is still convalescing after her second cruciate ligament rupture within a year and recently completed the first stage of her police training in Graz. Leonie Lussnig from Oberland does not need an operation after her slipped disc in August, but is only now being allowed to cautiously start her recovery training.