The ÖSV team is looking to make amends at the start of the season in Tyrol, but the big favorites are different.
One year after a historic bankruptcy in front of a ghostly backdrop, Austria's alpine ski women are competing in Sölden to make amends. “This is our home glacier”, said racing director Christian Mitter before the giant slalom, with which the women traditionally open the World Cup opening in the Tyrolean Ötztal on Saturday, the top dogs.
It is the start of an Olympic winter in which fans are returning to the racetracks after a season without spectators. Around 7,000 are planned for the women's race on Saturday (10:00 a.m. / 1:15 p.m., live ORF 1 ), in which, after Marta Bassino's double victory in Italy last year, ahead of Federica Brignone with Mikaela Shiffrin, Lara Gut-Behrami, Alice Robinson and World Cup Overall winner Petra Vlhova the “usual suspects” are the top favorites.
There is a certain confidence among the ÖSV women that after only 15th place for Katharina Truppe, this time at 3,000 m above sea level, they will do better. With five wins in the 23 races in Sölden so far, Austria's giant slalom specialists are still in the lead together with Germany.
