Berthod and Weirather at the World Ski Championships "That gives me a bit of a stomach ache"
Tina Weirather and Marc Berthod assess the chances of the Swiss ski aces at the World Championships in Saalbach for blue Sport. Who are the heavy favorites and where could there be a surprise?
Will this be the best World Ski Championships ever from a Swiss perspective?
Tina Weirather: They have done everything to ensure that you can go there with very high expectations. But you can't take it for granted. And practically nobody on the women's side knows the course. The Austrians, on the other hand, have trained a lot on it. They spent every free minute on this course. That's why you have to keep your head down a bit, also because I don't think it's the most difficult course. And the Swiss women were mainly brilliant on the technical courses. That gives me a bit of a stomach ache.
Marc Berthod: I think so. The signs are great. There were 14 medals in Crans-Montana, gold in almost all disciplines. Whether it really will be the best of all time is perhaps difficult. But I think it will certainly be very good and come close to Crans-Montana.
Why is Switzerland currently so much better than Austria?
Marc Berthod: We have the broader and stronger team. And we have a dynamic and a good spirit in it that spills over the entire team. Everyone joins in the euphoria of success. This situation is also something unique and we have to enjoy it. It's a mega nice situation.
Tina Weirather: The women's slalom team is so enormously strong. You can't underestimate what Wendy Holdener has achieved there. She puts in training performances that are always world class. That's how Camille Rast and Melanie Meillard were able to develop. And the youngsters too, of course, they've always seen what's still possible. That has helped the whole team to progress enormously, but it's also a bit tough for Wendy because Camille is currently in the lead.
What are your favorites?
Tina Weirather: We have several contenders in every discipline for the women, except for the giant slalom, where we only have Lara Gut-Behrami. In the speed category, my hopes are very much pinned on Corinne Suter. She's fully back. She has slowly come closer and now the breakthrough is back. When I watch her in training, I can see that she's in top form. The cool thing is that there is no discipline where we are not favorites. But you know how much luck it takes at a World Championships for everything to work out.
Marc Berthod: In the men's event, I think all the Swiss who are competing have the chance to win a medal. That's a formidable starting position. In the slalom, I'm betting on Tanguy Nef, who you might not have expected. He's got a bit of an American streak in him to pull luck on his side at the big events. But he's also got the Swiss structure, which could work.
What about Vonn and Shiffrin?
Tina Weirather: Vonn still has what it takes, you really have to say that. And especially at the World Championships, when there are three training runs, I can see her being very strong in the downhill. And with Shiffrin, you know that she only comes back when she's in winning form. I have her very high on my list, especially in the slalom.