Ski mountaineering

Only “tin” for Dreier at the home World Cup

The ÖSV ski mountaineering team narrowly missed out on the podium twice in the vertical competition at their home World Cup in Schladming on Friday: Sarah Dreier, who won on the Planai in 2023 and 2024, finished fourth, 58 seconds behind Swedish winner Tove Alexandersson, a good 26 seconds off third place. 

In the men's race, Paul Verbnjak missed out on third place by just 1.9 seconds and also finished fourth. Remi Bonnet (SUI) was once again the winner. "It was a brutally tough race, the conditions weren't easy. Fourth place seems to have been booked on me, so of course I'm a bit annoyed," said Verbnjak, who had also recently finished fourth twice at the World Championships in Morgins. He dropped back to fourth place in the finish. The second best ÖSV man was Christof Hochenwarter in eighth place.

Sarah Dreier disappointed
In difficult conditions, 615 vertical meters had to be overcome from the finish stadium on the Planai over a distance of 2.2 kilometers to the middle station. The course, which is already one of the steepest World Cup courses in the world, was made even more difficult by rain in the lower section and snowfall in the upper section.

Last year, Dreier celebrated a double victory ahead of Johanna Hiemer, who did not start due to illness. This year's World Championship bronze medal winner from Salzburg had a long way to go for a podium place in Schladming this time. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. But I can't blame myself," said Dreier. The Olympic sprint competition is still on the program on Saturday.