Super-G on Friday

Kriechmayr: Start in Kitzbühel is too early

Vincent Kriechmayr free skiing on the World Championship piste in Saalbach.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Vincent Kriechmayr felt his way back to racing in Saalbach on Thursday, just five days after his crash in Wengen, and a start in Friday's super-G in Kitzbühel is not yet completely out of the question - the Upper Austrian will decide after the run-in in the morning!

While the workers were assembling the last components of the gigantic grandstand in the finish stadium in Saalbach, the ÖSV entourage made their rounds on the Zwölferkogel yesterday. Stephi Brunner and Julia Scheib trained giant slalom in the sunshine on the World Championship slope, the male speed skiers trained super-G 90 minutes by car from Kitzbühel. Right in the middle of it all: Vincent Kriechmayr.

Vincent Kriechmayr(Bild: GEPA)

Just six days after suffering a pulled inner ligament in his right knee in Wengen, our speed figurehead is back on skis - a good sign with a view to Saalbach! Even though he was far from race shape yesterday morning and stopped the free run with pain. "The worst of the swelling has subsided, he can already do a lot, he was also back on the ergometer - but it's a different matter on the snow," says Alpine boss Herbert Mandl. The planned lightning comeback in Kitzbühel seemed to have fallen through

"A mature athlete"
Before there was a rethink this afternoon. "Vinc" wants to try everything possible with the Super-G globe in the back of his mind, had himself drawn yesterday at the start number draw. And will decide whether to start this morning after skiing in on the Ochsalm. Mandl: "He is a responsible athlete and has to make this decision himself - only he knows how his body is feeling."

If it doesn't work out, Vinc still has exactly two weeks until the World Championship Super-G. Raphi Haaser also wants to be there. He is celebrating his comeback today, almost five weeks after spraining his cruciate ligament, and gave the green light after yesterday's training. "I have absolute confidence in my knee," says Haaser. He retired from his only super-G race this year in Beaver Creek with a top intermediate time and is third in last year's discipline World Cup without a result. "With a view to the World Championships, it would be important for me to have something to show after Kitzbühel," says Haaser. He is delighted about the return of the super-G on the Streif: "It's very positive for the sport."