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ITZBUEHEL,
Austria (AP) _ With the world championships just 10 days away,
Stephan Eberharter and the rest of the Austrian squad are preparing
for the most cutthroat battle yet this season as they attempt to
lock up the final downhill and super-G berths for St. Moritz. With
only four berths available per country per discipline at the worlds
_ with the reigning world champion allowed a
free, fifth berth _ competition for one the coveted spots has been
brutal in the star-packed Austrian team. "It's always the same on
the Austrian team," said Olympic champion Fritz Strobl in a press
conference after Wednesday's downhill training session was canceled
due to fog, snow and poor visibility. "The last years we've had the
same problem. It's the same ahead of the Olympics. You have to ski
fast to be on the team. We have two chances this weekend and that's
it." In the last downhill and super-G races ahead of the worlds, a
victory on the notorious Streif in Kitzbuehel _ one of the most
dangerous course on the World cup circuit _
would guarantee almost any Austrian skier a berth in St. Moritz. As
defending world champion, Hannes Trinkl is already assured his
place.
Eberharter, the reigning overall, downhill and super-G champion is
also virtually guaranteed a berth after winning five-of-eight
downhills this season. He also won the season's first super-G in
Lake Louise. Michael Walchhofer, who has finished runnerup in four
downhills this year, is also almost a sure bet. That leaves three
downhill spots available for Olympic champion Fritz Strobl, Klaus
Kroell, 1999 World Cup downhill champion Andreas Schifferer, Josef
Strobl, Werner Franz, Christoph Gruber and Hans Knauss, the winner
in Kitzbuehel in 1999. "I know I can ski fast and if I don't make
any mistakes and I have fast skis then I hope to qualify for sure,"
Fritz Strobl said. "But there is no pressure on me. I have the
Olympic gold medal."
It still won't be easy for Strobl, who has failed to win a single
race this season. At Wengen last weekend, the Austrian went out in
the first of two downhills. He then finished 10th in the second
downhill, three spots behind Hermann Maier, who was competing in
only his third race since coming back from a horrific motorcycle
crash in August 2001 when he nearly lost a leg.
"I've put Wengen behind me," Strobl stated. "It's new conditions
here, new weather, new race. "Not so much gliding. I don't know if
there was a problem with the skis but some conditions are faster
now." For Knauss, who won here in 1999 then injured himself a
year later on the same course, qualifying for the downhill is an
even greater stretch. Following his accident in 2000, Knauss
struggled for three years. He only rejoined the world's elite last
week in Adelboden, winning a giant slalom. But his campaign in
the speed events has been weak.
Currently 26th in the World Cup downhill rankings, Knauss's best
result this season was a ninth place in Wengen. He was also ninth in
a super-G in Beaver Creek in early December. "It's a hard fight on
the Austrian team. You're always under pressure," Knauss said. "At
the moment the downhill is a very hard fight. I haven't been a real
downhiller this year. "But that could change quickly. One race could
be enough," he warned. "If I'm racing here then I have a chance.
It's my big break. But you can't go into a race thinking about who
is qualified and who isn't. It creates too much pressure." But
Knauss was also keen to remind everyone he is a former-winner here.
"If you look at the races I've won, it's all been the difficult
ones," Knauss said. "All the classics like Adelboden, Alta Badia and
Kitzbuehel.
"I'm in good shape, I feel good and very strong." Hermann Maier will
be seeking to qualify for just about anything he can at the worlds,
except the slalom and combined events. But the challenge is great.
He failed to qualify for his comeback giant slalom and
finished 22nd in the first Wengen downhill last weekend. However, he
showed a glimmer of his former magic in the second downhill,
crossing a surprising seventh. While Eberharter is almost assured a
downhill berth, he will still be looking for valuable points to aid
the defense of his World Cup overall title against Bode Miller, who
has overtaken him in the standings. The two have been wrestling for
the overall lead ever since the American won a giant slalom in
Kranjska Gora earlier this month and became the first American man
to lead the general standings. As a precaution, Eberharter went
slalom training Thursday, in preparation for the weekend's combined
discipline, a paper event which adds the time from the weekend's
downhill and slalom. "It's the first time in years I've done slalom,
the last time I raced was in 1993 or 1994," Eberharter said. "But I
stayed up and got through. I was better than expected." Miller, a
technical specialist who finished runnerup behind Norwegian
alrounder Kjetil Andre Aamodt in Wengen's combined, could pull away
even further if Eberharter is not careful. Eberharter said he would
wait and see how he fared in the speed events before deciding to
throw himself into the technical slalom race. "If I have good
results in the speed events, then maybe I go home on Saturday," he
said. |
