What remains in the CdM menu? Balanced calendar for men, much less for women

With Semmering's triptych, a series of eight consecutive technical competitions opens for the women's sector, which between now and the end of the season will have "only" five descents. From Bormio to the great classics between speed and slalom, it will be a great month for men (even if those two super-g's of Lake Louise and Val Gardena need to be recovered...). With their quality in three disciplines, Shiffrin and Odermatt are the favorites for the "coppone".

Saturday 24 December 2022 9 minutes reading time

Twenty-seven races on one side, twenty-eight on the other (including two recoveries that have not yet been fixed), practically at a third of the way for both the women's and men's sectors. The World Cup is preparing to close in 2022, with the girls who will be the first to get back on track immediately after Christmas: from Tuesday 27 off to the Semmering triptych, with the giant recovery of the canceled one in Soelden which inaugurates a series of eight consecutive technical competitions, with four tests between the wide doors (there will also be two giants in Kranjska Gora) and four slaloms, from next Thursday's one on the "Panorama" to the two in Zagreb, up to the night in Flachau. Between St. Anton and Cortina, there will then be three super-g and two downhills on the central weekends of January, followed by the giant of Kronplatz, on the splendid "Erta", up to the double technical races at Spindleruv Mlyn, for the return of the CdM in the Czech Republic before the World Cup. After Courchevel Méribel 2023, downhill and super-g in Crans-Montana, the new triptych of speed in Kvitfjell (with two super-g and one downhill, like in Cortina), to then stay in Scandinavia with giant and slalom in Are to precede the finals in Soldeu. In total, we are talking about 8 giants, 7 slalom, 7 super-g and 5 descents (remembering that the two canceled ones in Zermatt-Cervinia will not be recovered). Calendar which, beyond the imbalance in terms of the order of the races (eight consecutive techniques in the heart of the season, even if in the original program it would have been seven, are a blunder), clearly indicates how Mikaela Shiffrin is even more favorite than it might seem currently for the conquest of the fifth absolute crystal ball of the career. Mikaela so far, in the span of nine races out of the twelve scheduled (he only missed the Lake Louise triptych), has averaged 63.88 pts for each appointment; Sofia Goggia, who is 105 lengths from the American, in seven outings (4 descents, 2 super-g and the giant slalom held in Sestriere) had an average of 67.14 pts, but it seems clear that without the giant slalom, considering that the Bergamo player will miss Semmering and probably also the other "brace" from Kranjska Gora, and with a super-g on par or almost with Shiffrin, the comparison doesn't even arise given that the trophy holder has already brought home heavy points in four disciplines, while remaining below standard between the wide doors, and will also have a greater number of opportunities available even just limiting himself to technical competitions. It is probable that, after the giant and slalom at Spindleruv Mlyn, therefore at the end of this month which will then lead to the World Championships, Petra Vlhova (currently at -235 pts from the summit) could be Shiffrin's first pursuer. MEN'S CALENDAR At the men's level, the cup calendar still offers 28 competitions, 14 technical and 14 fast, but this taking into account two recoveries, the super-g canceled in Lake Louise and in Val Gardena, which are far from certain of a reinsertion in the calendar, also because there are very few spaces. The distribution of trials in the next month is much more balanced, starting again from the Bormio descent next Wednesday: there will be eight races in the queen discipline, given that after the "Stelvio" here is the Lauberhorn of Wengen, a new double challenge on the Streif, in temple of Kitzbuehel on 20-21 January, the Kandahar of Garmisch and, after the world championship, another one-two in that of Aspen, for the second trip of the season to the States, before the final appointment in Soldeu. Waiting for the two recoveries, there are just four super-g's on the calendar: Bormio, Wengen, Aspen (almost two months without specialty tests, in this case, are an anomaly) and the finals race. Six giants, after the four already disputed, with the temple of Adelboden preceding Garmisch, then at the end of February Palisades Tahoe, the brace of Kranjska Gora and Soldeu. Eight slaloms (out of the total ten, like the giants) still on the menu, starting from the night in Garmisch on 4 January, then in series all the very classics with Adelboden, Wengen, Kitzbuehel and Schladming, finally Chamonix (before the World Championship), Palisades Tahoe and the final challenge to the finals. Perhaps even more than for the women's sector, Marco Odermatt has ample room to allow himself some mistakes (so far, 9 podiums in 10 races and a 7th place in the downhill, he has made no mistakes... nothing), with his enormous quality on three disciplines and 271 points ahead of Kilde: 79.60 the average points of the Swiss phenomenon, 65.62 that of the Norwegian out of eight races held (two fewer than his rival, i.e. the giant from Val d''Isère and the second in Badia). Henrik Kristoffersen, more than 400 lengths behind "Odi", with six slaloms in the space of a month, can think of fighting for second place with his compatriot Kilde, the same could also be true for Braathen, but to avoid encore of King Odermatt's cup, a half-miracle would really be needed.

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