Icon: enlarge
Thomas Dreßen
Photo:
Marco Trovati / AP
The alpine ski season is slowly picking up speed.
This week, two parallel giant slalom competitions are taking place in Lech, Austria and the German Ski Association (DSV) is hoping for good results.
However, the preparation is overshadowed by the injury of a driver who would not be at the start in Lech and only wanted to start the season in mid-December: Thomas Dreßen, Kitzbühel winner in 2018 and, after the resignation of Viktoria Rebensburg, the only Alpine in the DSV- Team with constant podium chances will have to undergo hip surgery.
Dreßen free joint bodies will be removed on Thursday.
"I've had problems with my hip for two years," said Dreßen in a statement made by the DSV.
"In the end I couldn't take it anymore because of the pain. I was hoping that surgery could be avoided and that I could get it under control with injections.
At the moment, neither Dreßen nor national coach Christian Schwaiger know how long the five-time World Cup winner will be out.
After the operation, there is always a rehab, after which Dreßen should be prepared for the training work in the snow.
Dreßen left the training camp of the German speed team in Copper Mountain (USA) early last Saturday.
On Monday he had an MRI examination in Munich.
The 27-year-old should be the figurehead in the changing DSV team and take the pressure off the other athletes with success.
In the men's team, Stefan Luitz and Josef Ferstl will now increasingly take center stage, although they have not yet been able to show Dreßen's consistency.
Icon: The mirror
krä / sid