This is how it continues in the Ski World Cup – Swiss with a chance of the balls

After the World Cup medals, it’s all about the World Cup balls – with these chances for the Swiss

With the world championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the highlight of the ski season is history. But this is far from over. Several Swiss athletes are fully involved in the battle for the coveted crystal balls.

World championships or Olympic victories are the greatest – in public. At least for the athletes, however, victories in the overall or in a discipline World Cup are just as valuable. After all, they do not distinguish the person who was the fastest on the famous “Day X”, but the person who was the best for a whole winter.

Women

Overall World Cup

After 22 of 33 races, Lara Gut-Behrami and Michelle Gisin are in 2nd and 3rd place.  The  last third of the season will be launched at the weekend with two downhill runs and a Super-G in Val di Fassa (Italy).  The  current status:

1. Petra Vlhova 🇸🇰 989 points
2. Lara Gut-Behrami 🇨🇭 947 points
3. Michelle Gisin 🇨🇭 807 points
4. Marta Bassino 🇮🇹 741 points
5. Sofia Goggia 🇮🇹 740 points
6. Federica Brignone 🇮🇹 637 Punkte
7. Mikaela Shiffrin 🇺🇸 615 Points

It looks like there will be a duel for the big crystal ball. Gut-Behrami, who is in good shape and has just become double world champion in Super-G and giant slalom, could win the overall World Cup for the second time since 2015/16. It would be a first for Slovak Vlhova. Her shape is also still right: in the Dolomites she won silver in slalom and combined. Means: Vlhova can also be fast in the Super-G, in the special race at the World Cup she finished ninth.

 The  rest of the program promises excitement. In addition to two Super-G and giant slaloms, three downhill runs (terrain for Gut-Behrami) and four slaloms (terrain for Vlhova) are outstanding. All-rounder Michelle Gisin can only calculate her chances if both favorites go wrong several times.

Departure

1. Sofia Goggia 🇮🇹 480 points
2. Breezy Johnson 🇺🇸 285 Punkte
3. Corinne Suter 🇨🇭 270 points
4. Ester Ledecka 🇨🇿 206 points
5. Lara Gut-Behrami 🇨🇭 183 points

Goggias lead is almost 200 points with a maximum of 300 points to be scored.

 The  Italian’s handicap: She can only watch because she was seriously injured shortly before the World Cup and her season is already over. Nevertheless, downhill Olympic champion Goggia can hope for the small crystal ball: If Johnson or Suter still want to pass, they both have to go on the podium at least twice, and if possible as a winner.

Four bills for Corinne Suter, who is 210 points behind Goggia:

• Victory (100 points), rank 2 (80), rank 3 (60) = 240 points
• Two times rank 2 (80), rank 3 (60) = 220 points
• Rank 2 (80), two times rank 3 (60) = 200 points
• Rang 2 (80), Rang 3 (60), Rang 4 (50) = 190 Punkte

Super G

1. Lara Gut-Behrami 🇨🇭 445 points
2. Corinne Suter 🇨🇭 250 points
3. Tamara Tippler 🇦🇹 240 Punkte

With two races still outstanding, Gut-Behrami wins the small crystal ball is a matter of form. Even if Suter wins both Super-Gs, the Ticino woman is already 26th in Val di Fassa on Sunday.

Giant slalom

1. Marta Bassino 🇮🇹 460 points
2. Tessa Worley 🇫🇷 336 Punkte
3. Michelle Gisin 🇨🇭 312 points
4. Federica Brignone 🇮🇹 282 Punkte
5. Mikaela Shiffrin 🇺🇸 280 Points
6. Lara Gut-Behrami 🇨🇭 259 points

It doesn’t look like this crystal ball will go to a Swiss woman. Bassino could secure it in the penultimate giant slalom of the season with two races still outstanding.

Slalom

1. Petra Vlhova 🇸🇰 400 points
2. Katharina Liensberger 🇦🇹 360 points
3. Mikaela Shiffrin 🇺🇸 335 Points
4. Michelle Gisin 🇨🇭 330 points
5. Wendy Holdener 🇨🇭 245 Punkte

With four remaining slaloms in the pole forest, a lot remains possible. World champion Liensberger was on the podium in all five races, but has never won the World Cup – she made her premiere at the World Championships in Cortina.

 The  Austrian is in the flow and can perhaps hope that Vlhova will make it through instead of winning the day in the fight for the big crystal ball.

Men

Overall World Cup

27 out of 38 races have been completed. Next up on Saturday and Sunday are two giant slaloms in Bansko, Bulgaria.

 The  current status:

1. Alexis Pinturault 🇫🇷 924 points
2. Marco Odermatt 🇨🇭 699 points
3. Marco Schwarz 🇦🇹 666 points
4. Matthias Mayer 🇦🇹 604 points
5. Loic Meillard 🇨🇭 562 points

It’s hard to imagine any other winner than Pinturault.

 The  Frenchman is at the top in so many disciplines that only one injury can stop him – as happened in December Kilde.

 The  overall World Cup winner last winter was in top form when his cruciate ligament tore.

Eleven men’s races are still scheduled: two downhill runs, three Super-G, four giant slaloms and two slaloms.

Departure

1. Beat Feuz 🇨🇭 406 points
2. Matthias Mayer 🇦🇹 358 points
3. Dominik Paris 🇮🇹 288 points
4. Johan Clarey 🇫🇷 243 Punkte

Two victories on the Streif in Kitzbühel, second in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, third in Val Gardena, plus a bronze medal at the World Championships – Feuz is also impressive this winter.

 The  Emmentaler has the chance to win the Downhill World Cup for the fourth time in a row. So far, this only succeeded the Austrian Franz Klammer over 40 years ago. Klammer (5) and Didier Cuche (4) were the first to win more than three small crystal balls in the supreme discipline.

Super G

1. Vincent Kriechmayr 🇦🇹 341 points
2. Matthias Mayer 🇦🇹 240 points
3. Mauro Caviezel 🇨🇭 225 points
4. Marco Odermatt 🇨🇭 218 points
5. Alexander Aamodt Source 🇳🇴 172 Points
6. Kjetil Jansrud 🇳🇴 160 Points

 The re are still three races to go. Caviezel won the small crystal ball last winter, this winter he won the World Cup for the first time – and then got injured.

 The  comeback at the World Cup was unsatisfactory. Rival Kriechmayr is completely different: He’s going into the rest of the World Cup season with a lot of momentum as Cortina’s double world champion.

Giant slalom

1. Alexis Pinturault 🇫🇷 440 points
2. Marco Odermatt 🇨🇭 400 points
3. Filip Zubcic 🇭🇷 368 Punkte
4. Loic Meillard 🇨🇭 245 points
5. Tommy Ford 🇺🇸 200 Punkte

With four giant slaloms still pending, it is too early to make a forecast. It is clear that Odermatt has a great chance of winning a crystal ball for the first time in his career. He finished on the podium four times (one win), but Pinturault won the last three races in a row, the last two ahead of Zubcic. At the World Cup all favorites had to put up with a disappointment, Mathieu Faivre ahead of Luce De Aliprandini and Marco Schwarz was the surprising podium.

Slalom

1. Marco Schwarz 🇦🇹 589 points
2. Ramon Zenhäusern 🇨🇭 443 points
3. Sebastian Foss-Solevaag 🇳🇴 405 Points

Two slaloms are still pending – it will be difficult for Zen houses to catch Black. Even if the “double meter” from the Valais wins the next race and the strong Austrian fails, he is still in the lead by 46 points. Zenhäuser would have to hope for another out of Black and finish at least fourth.

 The  newly crowned world champion Foss-Solevaag only has a theoretical chance if he wins both slaloms.

Nations ranking

After 30 years of Austrian dominance, Swiss-Ski won this prestigious ranking for the first time last winter. This season there is a strong smell of title defense.

 The  current status:

1. Switzerland 🇨🇭 7408 points
2. Austria 🇦🇹 6659 points
3. Italy 🇮🇹 4453 points
4. Norway 🇳🇴 3547 points
5. France 🇫🇷 3543 points

A sign of strength and balance: Switzerland is in first place for both sexes. Men are 93 points ahead of Austria, while women are 384 points over Italy.

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