The German ski racer Alexander Schmid confirmed his good form in the last giant slalom before the World Championships, but again missed out on a podium place. The 28-year-old from Oberstdorf took ninth place in the Schladming night race and thus made it into the top ten for the fifth time this winter.
“It was a lot of fun, I haven’t forgotten how to do it,” said Schmid, who recently scaled back his training volume due to illness. “It would have been better, but I’m satisfied. I realized again that I can keep up,” said the man from the Allgäu.
The Swiss Loic Meillard confidently secured victory on the legendary Planai ahead of his teammate Gino Caviezel. Third was Marco Schwarz from Austria. From the six-person contingent of the German Ski Association, only Stefan Luitz scored points in 28th place alongside Schmid.
The Swiss alpine dominator Marco Odermatt (25) did not start due to injury, but gave the all-clear with a view to the World Cup in France (February 6th to 9th). “It’ll be fine by then,” assured the overall World Cup leader.
