Olympia 2018: Why Hirscher is the Super-G-Joker

In an interview with the APA, ÖSV racing director Andreas Puelacher talks about a possible surprise winner in downhill skiing and why it is good to have Marcel Hirscher for the Super-G in the back of your hand.

Question: Five races are waiting for five chances. How important is a good start to the Winter Games?

Puelacher:”Of course, it’s a lot easier for the team if you win a medal in the first competition. That’s what they got in St. Moritz seen in the departure (2. ) we made a medal and that helped, so you won’t come under pressure as a team. There’s no pressure on the coaches either.”

Question: How far was it helpful that the downhill team has been fixed for quite some time?

Puelacher:”The four of them crystallized, they were on the podium. You have time to prepare yourself in peace and try things out and not the stress of quality pressure. I think that’s an advantage. Anyway, I would have taken only one more of them anyway, because that would simply cause unrest when too many people are driving around one or two places. I didn’t want that to happen. It happened well in this case, of course I would have liked to have had other good performances on the descent as well, so that they can be considered. These four are good, and I’m convinced we have the right choice.”

Question: Are Matthias Mayer, Hannes Reichelt, Max Franz and Vincent Kriechmayr also the Super-G-Quartet, or is Marcel Hirscher still a consideration?

Puelacher:”In the Super-G it is relatively simple. Marcel has no result, the others have all podium finishes. From this point of view, Marcel is not authorized to drive super-G. But of course, Marcel is a very, very good alternative if something should go wrong, if a problem with this slope, with the snow would have. I’m glad you got him in the back of your hand.”

Question: What about the combination and the technical competitions?

Puelacher:”The combiners are fixed on the technical side with Marcel Hirscher and Marco Schwarz, as well as on the speed side with Mayer and Kriechmayr. Giant slalom and slalom are still open.”

Question: It starts with the descent, how do you evaluate the qualities of the speed track?

Puelacher:”We are talking about a very good downhill run, which is above all technically very demanding. The snow conditions are very simple but difficult to tune. She is worthy of the Olympics, but personally I just don’t have this high speed part, which I would have liked to have had, then it would be a great downhill run. But the mountain doesn’t exist, nobody can help it. The field of favourites is getting a little bigger, so it will be hard to win medals on this descent.”

Question: Can there be a surprise Olympic champion?

Puelacher:”Surprises are always possible. Who would have expected Mayer in Sochi on such a difficult descent. He hadn’t won a race before. The weather is also a big topic here. If you have wind from the front, you really don’t stand a chance, because then the speed is so low.”