Second win for Mario Matt at Schladming

Patrick Lang 23.01.2008 08:40 Uhr

Reigning World Champion Mario Matt enchanted ten thousands of elate spectators this evening with his second win of the season in Schladming’s famous “Nightrace” beating France’s Jean-Baptiste Grange by 64/100 of a second while Italy’s Manfred Moelgg, the leader after the first run, came in 3rd at 65/100.

USA’s Ted Ligety, who struggled in the first run, clocked one of the fastest times later in the evening to move-up in the standings and finish a strong 4th - only 5/100 far from the podium. He came ahead of Germany’s Felix Neureuther and Frenchman Julien Lizeroux.

Benjamin Raich, a four-time winner here including last year, was a far 8th at 1,63 seconds – quite a disappointment for the defending slalom World Cup champion who failed again to reach the podium in a slalom.

Yet the Olympic champion was still better than some of his toughest rivals in the battle for the Overall title. Bode Miller didn’t finish the first run while Switzerland’s Daniel Albrecht was a far 26th. Albrecht has only scored a few points in recent days and his chances to remain a top-contender until the Finals at Bormio are getting slimmer now.

Other favourites as Jens Byggmark, who injured his right hand at Kitzbühel where he was 2nd and two-time Schladming winner Kalle Palander failed to end the second run.

Didier Cuche, the recent winner at Kitzbühel, watched the race at home on TV but he will be back on scene next Saturday at Chamonix where the men’s tour will resume with a downhill and a Super-combined event.

700th win for Austrian
Matt, already a winner here eight years ago, set another milestone in the history of Austrian ski racing in bringing the 700th World Cup victory to his team. It’s also the first Austrian victory this season in a men’s World Cup race held in Austria – so far five skiers from Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, USA and France triumphed in Soelden, Reiteralm and Kitzbühel but none from Austria!

“It’s for sure an honour and a special victory for me,” said Matt afterwards. “I have been looking for it for a while. This event is very special for the slalom skiers. There is so much intensity here and each of us dreams to excel on that slope in front of that huge crowd,” he added.

“I was confident prior the race because I skied well in Kitzbühel and I knew I can beat Grange here with a solid performance in both runs. I had a very gutsy second run, fighting very hard at the bottom to take the lead. This hill is very tricky and it’s surely a huge advantage to have done well here in the past. There are so many changes of rhythm that it’s really difficult to remain all the time totally focused.”

Matt regained terrain on Grange in the slalom standings yet the Frenchman is still far ahead with a total of 456 points – 151 more than the Tyrolian.

Grange remains in red
With four slaloms left on the World Cup calendar until the Finals at Bormio, Grange can’t relax yet. In fact, the skier from Valloire was pretty satisfied with his performance. “I know I can’t win all the time, I’m still young and Matt achieved two great runs this evening,” he said.

“I already enjoyed many great moments in recent weeks and I can’t be unhappy with a podium finish here. I’m happy with my skiing. It was a very tough course and it was easy to make mistakes. As usual, I gave my best in both runs but the conditions didn’t favour my technique this night. I could not ski as straight as I used to, the course was also pretty choppy in the first run because of the wet snow and the warm temperature.”

“Now I’m looking for two exciting weekends at home – it’s nice to race in front of my fans at Chamonix and Val d’Isère. I still have a mission to accomplish there – regain the lead in the Super-combined standings.”

Moelgg was close
Manfred Moelgg has been very close to capture his first World Cup race. The Italian was able to increase his lead on Matt in the upper part of the second run, yet a major mistake in the lower part cost him much time and he was pretty lucky to reach the podium.

“I was going for it, I felt strong and my skiing was again very solid, it’s just too bad that I nearly lost my balance at the beginning of that last treacherous section,” he explained.

“To be 3rd by those conditions is fine, but I already had collected enough top-3 finishes so far, I was looking for my first win this night after some less exciting results at Adelboden, Wengen and Kitzbühel.”

As many other favourites, Ted Ligety was also a victim of the damaged course during his first run. The skier from Park City lost over a second and a half on Moelgg in that opening leg and only blistering skiing allowed him to approach the podium afterwards. Only Switzerland’s Marc Berthod, one of the first men on course in the final run, was faster by 5/100 than the combined Olympic champion who clearly dominated all the other top-guns.

“The first run was rough, it was very bumpy and impossible to come close to the gates,” he said on Austrian TV. “It’s too bad because it’s such a fantastic competition and you aim for excellence here. I’m really pleased with my second run which was amazing. The snow was harder and it was easier for me to take risks. I have often been 4th – but I did my best so I can’t be upset.”

Ligety who reached twice the podium this winter in slalom, should soon move-up among the best 7 in the slalom start-list. It would help him to fight again for victory in Garmisch-Partenkichen, Zagreb, Kranjska Gora or Bormio!