Eight months after the local hero injured herself in the training run before the World Championship medal race, the 19-year-old left her mark on today's World Cup qualifier in Leogang. Austria's World Championship silver medallist David Trummer also set an exclamation mark for tomorrow's final by finishing fifth in the men's qualifying.
Vali Höll is back in the hot seat after the World Cup qualifiers in Saalfelden Leogang and can hardly believe it herself: ‘I would never have imagined that it would work out like this today,’ said the 19-year-old at the finish, after leaving strong competitors such as Myriam Nicole (FRA) and Marine Cabirou (FRA) behind her in her comeback appearance: ‘Tomorrow I have to be careful in training and take it easy - and then just take everything as it comes.’
Höll even sees potential for the final run: ‘I didn't ski well in the lower section today, there's still room for improvement.’
A section of the course that seems to suit another Austrian perfectly: the sensational silver medallist at the home World Championships in Leogang, David Trummer, set another exclamation mark in fifth place in qualifying: ‘It's similar to last year, as long as I stay on the bike, everything is fine. And finding this balance again will also be the challenge tomorrow. In these conditions, Leogang is definitely the most difficult downhill course we have on the circuit at the moment.’ Australia's Troy Brosnan was the fastest in today's qualification.
And a red-white-red starter was also able to impress in the junior category: Sophie Guthohrle from Upper Austria was the fastest junior of the day, confirming once again that Leogang is one of her absolute favourite tracks after winning silver at last year's World Championships.
The strong Austrians will also receive support from the fans tomorrow, as the limited ticket contingent of 600 spectators for the Downhill World Cup Show-Down is already sold out. A fact that not only pleases the organisers, Kornel Grundner and Marco Pointner, but of course also the partners and supporters of the event, including the regional sports councillor Stefan Schnöll: ‘The Saalfelden Leogang region is now known for hosting great mountain bike competitions. As a sports councillor, I am delighted that we can once again host the World Cup events with spectators. Salzburg is once again proving that our province is predestined for major sporting events.’
There are still tickets left for the cross-country events on Sunday.
The short track competitions await the cross country elite in Saalfelden Leogang today (5.30 pm and 6.15 pm, live on redbull.tv)
