2021 cortina world championships
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The analysis of the blue performances in the men's sector in Cortina 2021: the Trentino takes the stage, Domme would have deserved more than a 4th and a 5th place. Well the newcomer Franzoni, how much anger for Gross ...
Monday 22 February 2021 12 minutes reading time
World report cards in Italy, this time dedicated to men. Fourteen protagonists of the races in Cortina 2021, plus Filippo Della Vite remained in the pits. Overall, a national team of 7 considering that it went beyond expectations especially in technical competitions, the most discussed in an entire World Cup season.
Luca De Aliprandini (grade 9): he is the cover man of Italy in these world championships, and not only for the silver giant who says everything about his enterprise, if we think that Trentino is not yet never got on a podium in CdM at the age of 30, despite having smelled it several times and giving the feeling of being able to do it just when it mattered most, as in Cortina. Luca had already seemed brilliant in parallel, looking back on that fatal mistake in the quarterfinal clash against Schmid cost him a probable second medal, having the advantage of the track in the decisive runs, just as he had dragged the blue team into the team event. Obviously "his" race stands out, for a sacrosanct 9.
Dominik Paris (vote 7): you will say. Domme is the champion of the national team and after winning in Garmisch, right next to the world championships, a medal was the minimum goal. True, but we are still talking about an athlete who has returned from an injury to the crusader and is already capable of being competitive after a few races; with a "normal" descent, his podium was almost a guarantee, but on the day of truth about "Vertigo" a fatal mistake arrived in the most complicated part of a track which, for three quarters, saw Paris dominate the world descent with partial to fear. The fourth place was really very bitter, albeit almost half a second behind the third place, while the 5th in super-g was still his top in the discipline where he clearly suffered the most on his return. Two placings at the foot of the podium that count for zero at the World Cup, it is true, but which are anything but trivial.
Christof Innerhofer (grade 6): 23rd in super-g, objectively a disaster for him, then the redemption with a great descent, ended in sixth place. It was immediately understood that on Vertigo there would be no great chances for “Inner”, fresh from four high-level races between Kitz and Garmisch, but his World Championship was not negative. In combined a bad super-g on the Olympia delle Tofane, to finish 14th after the slalom, but at that point the batteries were really flat.
Alex Vinatzer (grade 7): have we found the Vinny of the end of December? It seems so, even if the occasion was really tempting for the medal. From Noel to Schwarz, the door had been left open to take a medal, but the 2nd round of the world champion slalom saw the Gardena in great difficulty on the salt, after a practically perfect first. Too bad because 4th place does very badly in a World Championship (even if more than 7 tenths from the podium), but after a disastrous January, the 21 year old jr 2019 world champion has sent an important signal because the future of the Italian slalom is really in his hands.
Giovanni Franzoni (vote 6.5): a great world debut for the 2001 class already seen in the giants of the World Cup. The technical staff made him start with the alpine combined, where he finished with a great top 15 in super-g, and then made a mistake at the first door of the slalom, climbed up and concluded his test anyway (23rd, but it doesn't matter ). The next day out in the parallel qualifiers, then the giant earned an important placement also for points in the WCSL. Fourteenth in a selective race like never before on a thrilling track, the "Labirinti": a real degree exam.
Giovanni Borsotti (grade 5): far from the pass for the round of 16 in parallel, he himself admitted that he felt only bad feelings even in the team event, where he lost the two rounds of round of 16 with Finland and Germany. Finally, he came out in the 2nd heat of the giant, after finishing the first heat in 18th place, almost 3 seconds behind Pinturault. He has never entered the heart of these World Cups.
Riccardo Tonetti (grade 6): his race was the combined alpine, after the 4th place in Are 2019 and having touched the podium several times in the cup. The super-g was good, in the top ten area and practically 6 tenths from Pinturault, but in the slalom the top blue suffered a lot on the ice, settling for seventh place, far from the medal dream. Out of the parallel qualifiers, reserve in the team event, the player from Bolzano has played the last cartridges in the giant; 12th place did not satisfy him, but it is still enough.
Matteo Marsaglia (rating 5.5): 19th in super-g, 24th in downhill, he expected much more from two races that could be suited to his characteristics. He never "absorbed" the spirit of Vertigo, even if he was fast in practice, having to play the pass for the race.
Emanuele Buzzi (grade 6): an exceptional super-g in the second part of the race, for a 13th place conditioned by the critical passage after the Vertigine jump, where he made a lot of mistakes. The performance, however, had been there and probably would have deserved a place for the descent three days later, even if the high times in practice were decisive in the negative for the sappadino, back from an already very complicated season.
Stefano Gross (rating 6.5): it is perhaps the real big regret of the Azzurri World Cup, together with Paris, because the feeling is that a slope like that of Druscié A could adapt very well to the Fassano. And so it was for more than half of the first heat, with the best time ever before that fork that broke all dreams. Performance, at least up to that point, must still be rewarded.
Manfred Moelgg (grade 6): captain Manni has staked everything on the slalom, giving up even the giant, and was presented in condition and with good results behind him. He made a mistake immediately and did not hit the reversal of the 15, and then recovered some positions in the second for the 14th place. Far from what he could have done, but he is always there and the return in the post-injury year (and Covid) was still applause.
Mattia Casse (grade 6): he tried, but it was evident that the form could not be the right one for an event of this level, not even three months after the fractures at the talus suffered in training. A shame, because the Piedmontese could have done very well on the "Vertigo": Mattia was deployed in super-g, exiting in the most technical part of a track as much discussed as it was spectacular in his "heart", then he tried the descent card but, after the first training concluded away from the best, he left room for his teammates. That's right, we'll see him again at the top next season.
Giuliano Razzoli (vote 5.5): he did not get off to a good start in his new world championship assault, he who never took home anything at the World Cup. Also this time it went badly coming out after a few doors, after having snatched the call-up in extremis with the 7th place in Chamonix.
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