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Kathrin Hölzl (GER)
Kathrin Hölzl (GER)
Ivica Kostelić (CRO)
Kathrin Hölzl (GER)
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Racing: Success is crystal clear for Hölzl
Second place means victory in Giant Slalom World Cup
"That's it – my hands are on it at last!" Katy Hölzl (GER), who secured the small World Cup globe with second place in today's World Cup Giant Slalom, was visibly relieved. Thanks to a strong finish in the grand finale in Garmisch her impressive performance throughout the season was rewarded with the prestigious crystal globe. "That makes up for the Olympics," says Hölzl, who became World Champion last year as an outsider in the race. This season she became firmly established in Giant Slalom, her special discipline, and now ranks among the very best in the world. With two victories and a second and third place, Hölzl made one thing clear: she was the strongest Giant Slalom skier this winter. Following Denise Karbon's (ITA) Giant Slalom globe two years ago, this is now Fischer's second discipline World Cup title for its women's racing team.
Dream comes true despite all-out attack
Katy was quite nervous before the race. Trailing Kathrin Zettel (AUT) by 26 points, she knew it was going to be hard to get a good night's sleep. "It was difficult to fall asleep last night. I was still really nervous today and it didn't ease off until I went into the start house for the first run!" All the nervousness turned out to be unwarranted, however. Hölzl went into the lead after the first run and managed to stay ahead of her main rival for the World Cup globe. "I knew I had a comfortable lead but I heard that Kathrin Zettel had skied a good second leg before I set off. There's no point in relying on tactics, it just leads to unnecessary mistakes because you're not able to channel all your energy into the actual skiing. So, I had only one option. An all-out attack!" The "anti-tactic" approach paid off and the Bischofswiesen based racer's big dream came true. "I've often looked at the globes Maria Riesch has won and secretly thought to myself: one day, I want to win one of those, too."
Top result for Kostelić in Super-G
A dream also came true for Ivica Kostelić today. The Croatian, known as a technical specialist, caused nothing short of a sensation in the speed discipline world by clinching second place in the last World Cup Super-G of the season. "I would never have dreamt of such a result! I had my sights set on a top-10 finish." Prior to the race, Kostelić had never finished higher than eighth place in a World Cup Super-G. And it cannot even be said that the 30-year-old benefited from favourable conditions. On the contrary: heavy snowfall and poor visibility, which did improve towards the end, made the race an extremely demanding one. Today's second place means that the Olympic silver medallist has already been on the podium in three disciplines.
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