Alpine skiing: exertion is worth it for all-rounder black

Schwarz is currently dueling with Odermatt for the lead in the overall ranking; the 28-year-old Carinthian is currently 92 points behind the Swiss. The two of them were on an exhausting South Tyrol tour until Monday. “I’m still feeling good physically, which makes me very positive. But as I said, the day break is definitely good,” said Schwarz, who is the only runner in the field to have finished in the top ten in every discipline so far.

The two races in Alta Badia were the most strenuous for him. “It’s a brutal change from the speed disciplines back to an RTL. “It makes you gasp a lot more,” explained Schwarz. “The descents are perhaps a little more mentally demanding because I still have to concentrate a lot on the new descents. But of course the giant slaloms are more physically demanding.” However, he currently feels “still fresh”.

GEPA/Harald Steiner The addition of the speed competitions makes Marco Schwarz a complete skier

Schwarz has now developed giant slalom into his strongest discipline. He has been on the podium three times in the last four races and was fourth on Sunday. Since Val d’Isere last year he has been, at worst, ninth in every giant slalom he has completed. “It works well even with less RTL training. But there isn’t a big difference between the speed disciplines and the ‘giant’, so I can reconcile that well,” he emphasized.

Watch from weekend to weekend

The two-time World Cup bronze medalist in giant slalom will need staying power if he wants to challenge Odermatt until the end of the season – the final will take place in March at the 2025 World Cup venue Saalbach. The fact that Aleksander Aamodt Kilde said he was the favorite for the big ball because of the slalom obviously leaves Schwarz cold. “I noticed that, but I think he might want to distract himself a bit.” When Kilde himself starts a run, “it gets hot too,” he played the ball back to the Norwegian.

He also doesn’t know whether he will race all of the remaining slaloms this season. Twelve are still on the calendar. It remains to be seen how big the advantage could be compared to Odermatt, who skips the slalom. “The way things are going so far, I’m very positive. “I still watch from weekend to weekend,” said Schwarz. On Friday he will be at the start of the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio (5:45 p.m./8:45 p.m., live on ORF1).