Dagmar Rebensburg had such a feeling on Saturday. "We were still on the phone this morning, so she already sounded so relaxed and free." However, she never dreamed that her daughter would dominate the World Cup downhill on the legendary Kandahar in Garmisch-Partenkirchen a few hours later.
But Viktoria Rebensburg won. And the giant slalom specialist not only won a World Cup downhill run for the first time in her career, she also did so with a huge lead. 0.61 seconds on the second place, Italian Federica Brignone, and 0.83 seconds on the third Ester Ledecka (Czech Republic). "Incredible," says Viktoria Rebensburg. “To achieve this downhill victory, to win in all three disciplines in which I drive, means a lot to me.”
Viktoria Rebensburg's parents Dagmar (left) and Wolfgang (right) were one of the first to congratulate them.
© jpa
The 30-year-old played to the full on the challenging and sometimes extremely icy Kandahar her technical strength, which she has from the giant slalom. From the start, Rebensburg went on a dedicated and courageous journey and was always at the front. The competition - no chance.
The weeks before were not easy. Rebensburg's last top position was in mid-December when she finished fourth in the Courchevel (France) slalom. In addition, she had publicly asked DSV Alpine Manager Wolfgang Meier to train more (we reported). With her parents, the joy "after all the quarrels" was all the greater.
Rebensburg itself does not want to see the victory as an answer to the criticism or satisfaction - even if the relief was clearly noticeable. At the finish line she clenched her fists, threw her head back, waved and bowed to the approximately 5,000 spectators. "Yes, yes," she says afterwards, that was one of her sweetest or most beautiful victories. In addition, she was "certainly" the best descent of her life. "There was a lot going together."
She has an explanation of why things suddenly started on Saturday: "I was well prepared." After returning from Russia, she had worked a lot with the coaching team. That paid off in training on Friday, when Rebensburg was second fastest. “The fact that you do it again in the race is something different. It is extremely cool that it worked today. ”Previously, the Kreutherin had won 14 giant slaloms and four Super G races. After the 19th World Cup victory, the 2010 Olympic champion only needs one success to catch up with Hilde Gerg.
In addition to the first downhill victory, the triumph makes it perfect that it happened in the home race. "I found the Tom (Dreßen, editor's note) extremely inspiring last week because you saw what it means to win a home race and how special it is."