“There are still three favorites who made one more run than the others, that's the big problem. If they had canceled this morning
(Saturday morning)
, there would have been no problem
,” summarized Johan Clarey, athlete representative to the International Ski Federation (FIS).
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The day before, during the second training already swept by an icy wind, some skiers doubted that the start would be maintained on Saturday, with gusts announced at 64 km / h and a perceived temperature of -28 degrees.
But the organization let the 2014 Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer start followed by the Italian Christof Innerhofer, who quickly cut his effort, then the world number one in the downhill and super-G, the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
On the eve of the official event - which opens the Olympic fortnight in alpine skiing - the FIS then canceled training, only allowing competitors to
"slowly inspect the track once more"
.
The experience of the three starters has at least given a taste of what awaits the downhillers on Sunday, where the event scheduled for 11:00 a.m. local (4:00 a.m., in France) also risks being disrupted by the wind.
“On the jumps, I went 60 meters.
I was in balance, thank goodness,”
but
“it’s a good thing they canceled and decided to keep everyone safe for tomorrow
(Sunday) ,
”
Kilde said.
If the wind is anything but a surprise, as it regularly sweeps the ridges of this arid massif northwest of Beijing,
"it comes from all directions so it's really difficult to control
it", described the Norwegian.
"All of a sudden, there is nothing, then it blows full force, then nothing, and then it comes from the side, from behind, and on the jumps it came from below"
, at the risk of unbalancing the competitors in full flight, he continued.
Odermatt annoyed, Clarey annoyed
If the risk was obvious for the downhillers, they also need landmarks on “The Rock”, a winding and unprecedented track, on dry and entirely artificial snow which burns the soles of their skis.
“As we are on a new track with somewhat special conditions, everyone would have liked to do this kind of training
,” said Johan Clarey, who will go in search of a first Olympic medal without having been able to test his equipment.
Gathered before the start, the competitors had agreed on an intermediate solution:
"We were ready to ski hard where there was no risk, then to brake"
on the very windy second section, before
" re-engage on the last part”
, explained Mathieu Bailet.
"I tried to discuss with the FIS, but they didn't want to know anything (...) Here: we will have to deal with it and not get too excited"
, continued Johan Clarey.
Annoyed, the leader of the big globe race, Marco Odermatt, also considered the decision
"unfair"
, even if
"with the wind, it's not going to be the fairest race there is anyway"
.
“On an Olympic track where everything is new, you really want to have the same amount of training,”
he insisted.
“Each run helps to find the material and the perfect line”.
