Alpine Skiingmen's world cup
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The Tyrolean slalomgigantista, back from a difficult year between back problems and missed results for the whole team, analyzes what the Wunderteam (Hirscher in the first place ...) missed and looks ahead.
Wednesday 25 March 2020 5 minutes reading time
It was the most difficult year of the last decade and beyond, but it could only have been otherwise for the men's Austria of technical disciplines without Marcel Hirscher.
Yet, with the return of Marco Schwarz, the only one to save the Wunderteam balance between giant and slalom with two podiums between the narrow poles, there were hopes of obtaining at least a success with Michael Matt and Manuel Feller in particular. The Tyrolean, in an interview with Laola TV, admitted all the difficulties encountered but, at the same time, thinks that the future of Austria (which has lost the ranking by nations after over 30 years, in favor of Switzerland ) can still be positive, considering that at least in speed there have been victories and podiums with Mayer and Kriechmayr.
For Feller, back from the 2018/19 vintage which was clearly his best ever, it was a very complicated World Cup between back problems and level results never arrived: no top ten for the 27 year old from Fieberbrunn, who has obtained the best in the final giant of Hinterstoder (11th), after two 12ths between the inaugural giant of Soelden and the slalom of Zagreb, the race of the return after a month in the pits due to herniated disc (without surgical operation).
“It is clear that this season has not been worthy of Austria's skiing value - Feller admitted candidly - There have been many injuries and various problems, but there is no excuse. It is a pity that many things did not work precisely in the year in which we should have done our best also for the absence of Marcel (Hirscher, ed.), Which clearly makes the emptiness of results evident. Too much pressure on me? Actually I hadn't thought much about it during the pre season, but in Soelden I noticed that the expectations were all right and surely this makes things less easy ".
Now a quarantine period that can be useful to reset and solve problems, in the case of Feller starting from the chronic ones in the back: “In a certain sense yes, it is a situation that interrupts training on the snow, but it is clear that working on from a physical point of view it is not easy. I will need summer to get back to the level I had last autumn before Soelden. Then everything went wrong, even though I found certain sensations in the last race of Hinterstoder ".
Feller's vintage has been "saved" since the birth of his eldest son: "Becoming a father has been the only good thing in recent months - Manuel said - The priorities have changed, the attentions for the baby are many but, both of course, on the sports floor, I want to go back there And finally try to win in the World Cup ".
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