Kranjska Gora, Slovenia March 8, 2000
Men's Giant Slalom
Mayer beat Herman "The Herminator" Maier here during the 1997-'98 season. Two months later, Maier became an Olympic champion in GS. It's also the twentieth victory in 31 races for the Austrian men's team (including the tie at St. Anton in the second Super-G) not a bad average so far for the "Reds and Whites." There is more to come: Austria now leads the number of men's World Cup victories in giant slalom 54 ahead of Switzerland's 53. Maybe they should start their own league next year. But Mayer, hugging his friends from the Mayer Fan Club, could care less about these figures. He was just glad to have done so well after weeks of disappointing results.
"I was hoping for more after my great win at Saalbach last December, but I lost my focus and my rhythm in January because there was no giant slalom for six weeks," Mayer said after the race. "But here I had to return to the top on this slope that I know so well and in front of my fans. It's a difficult hill, especially in the final steep section. I was happy to be in the lead after the first run, it was a great boost for my moral. I was able to attack even more in the second run."
This next-to-last giant slalom before the Finals at Bormio was marked by crashes of two of the main Austrian favorites: Benjamin Raich, the winner in Yong Pyong two weeks ago, and Hermann Maier, the great dominator in giant slalom so far. It was Maier's first crash in a giant slalom race in a very long time. Both fell in the final treacherous part of the first run while attacking at their limits. Despite lack of training, The Herminator was in great shape that morning and had just clocked the fastest intermediate time when he lost his balance while coming out of a sharp right turn. Despite this mistake, Maier remains a solid leader in the giant slalom World Cup standings since his main rival, Switzerland's Michael von Gruenigen, finished only 8th. Maier now has a 52-point lead over the Swiss champion, a winner here back in 1997. Raich suffered a slight concussion and may not be able to compete this week's technical races at Schladming and Hinterstoder on Thursday night and Saturday.
"Now I aim for another big result at Hinterstoder it's always very exciting to perform in front of your own fans and I hope to reach the top-3 in the final GS standings." For the moment, Joël Chenal occupies this 3rd place. The winner from Alta Badia is also in great shape during this final part of the 2000 season. Only one more Austrian, Heinz Schilchegger, finished among the top-10. He finished 4th in front of Finland's "Little Herminator" as he likes to call himself, Sami Uotila. It's Uotila's best performance in a World Cup race. This should help him to enter the first seed in that specialty soon. Germany's Markus Eberle reached a best-ever 6th place ahead of Slovenia's Mitja Kunc, the winner in slalom in Korea two weeks ago. Kjetil-Andre Aamodt was 9th nothing special so far for the former GS World Champion (1993, Morioka). Although he has scored points in all the World Cup events held so far this season, his position behind Maier in the Overall World Cup standings is just too far back to allow him any dream of final victory. Dane Spencer was the best US skier in 25th position. The next men's race, a night slalom, is planned for Thursday evening. Over 40,000 spectators are expected around the slalom stadium at Schladming. It's the last slalom prior the Finals in Bormio and one of the last chance for Matjaz Vrhovnik to make up some terrain on Kjetil-Andre Aamodt in the slalom. Among the other favorites, Mario Matt, the greatest Austrian talent in slalom, Mitja Kunc, Jure Kosir, Ole Kristian Furuseth from Norway and Switzerland's Didier Plaschy. Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent
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