As a weather forecaster, Thomas Dreßen has failed to qualify for higher tasks. “The most important thing is that we are lucky weather-wise,” said the 29-year-old ski racer before the Alpine ski racers’ descents from Zermatt to Cervinia this weekend. But so far the weather hasn’t cooperated at all.
The local low pressure area around the Matterhorn brought snow, sleet, wind and fog. After Thursday’s training session, Friday’s training session was also canceled – and so was the first race of the season, which was scheduled for this Saturday. “It’s a shame that the weather put a damper on our plans,” said Dreßen on Friday: “I would have liked to drive. Every training session gives me something for the race.” Which race, you might ask? Because it seems very unlikely that the second descent scheduled for Sunday (11.30 a.m. on BR and Eurosport) can be carried out, as there is no prospect of any improvement in the weather.
A lot of care is needed for dresses
The cancellations are not good omens for a ski racer who has been plagued by health problems in recent years and now wants to make a fresh start. Cruciate ligament rupture, shoulder dislocation, hip problems and knee operations fill Dreßen’s medical record. Last season he only competed in selected races. He had to watch most of the previous two ski winters on television, which really ruined his mood. And he missed almost the entire 2018/19 season after a fatal crash in Beaver Creek in November 2018, which triggered all of the problems that followed.
The former shooting star, who stirred up the world elite with his victory in Kitzbühel in January 2018 and then won four more World Cup victories, now compares himself to a capricious Formula 1 racing car that needs a lot of care in order to achieve perfect performance can: “If a screw isn’t in the right position, then it won’t work,” says the motorsport fan and self-confessed speed junkie.
With the body structure of the 1.88 meter tall, 100 kilo downhill skier, who appears so massive and yet so difficult, there is now not a single screw loose to remain in the picture. Or, to use his words: “In terms of the frame, everything is in tip top shape.” Dreßen is also mentally at his best again, which is mainly explained by his personal happiness. Two years ago he married his Birgit, and little Elena was born this summer.
Last but not least, things should now move forward professionally again. Dreßen has worked hard on his skiing technique through intensive giant slalom training and therefore feels he is back on track for the downhill runs. He should no longer make simple driving mistakes that led to falls in the past. The uncertainty remains as to whether at least the departure can take place this Sunday.
“It’s a cool route”
For Dreßen, only the impressions from Wednesday remained, when the only test run on the prestigious two-country competition was successful. “It’s a cool route,” he says afterwards and is happy about many sections that “were fun”. Nevertheless, it is difficult to be fast. He personally wasn’t able to do this at all; he was a whopping 4.18 seconds behind and took 67th place out of 84 applicants.
However, this result doesn’t stress him in the least: “That’s why we do training rides, to try something out.” Dreßen identifies the exit to the steep slope as a key point – “which I didn’t succeed at all”, which also explained his deficit. After the test drive, he shakes himself awake a little: “You’re not allowed to drive around in world history.”
Achim Dreis, Zermatt Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 3 Stefanie Sippel (text) and Maximilian von Lachner (photos) Published/Updated: , Achim Dreis Published/Updated: Recommendations: 10
But that’s exactly what the Alpine entourage is forced to do on Friday. To get to the starting point at an altitude of over 3,500 meters, you have to complete four gondola tours with a total travel time of one hour. As soon as we got to the top, the news that the training had been canceled due to the weather heralded the equally long gondola tour backwards. On Saturday the organizers didn’t wait that long: the race was canceled before breakfast.
Unfortunate for someone who says of himself and his peers: “We are racing drivers and want to race. I hope something works out.” Because even if Dreßen hopes “that the weather will change,” the forecast for Sunday doesn’t bode well either.
