Swiss teams return home from South America

By Published On: September 16th, 2014Comments Off on Swiss teams return home from South America
Carlo Janka spent three extra days training in Ushuaia. GEPA/Mario Kneisl

Carlo Janka spent two extra days training in Ushuaia. GEPA/Mario Kneisl

Swiss teams usually don’t have to travel very far to find suitable skiing conditions in the summer as the glaciers in Saas Fee and Zermatt have snow year-round. But the national alpine teams still spent the end of summer in South America where winter conditions and a variety of terrain proved to be beneficial in both Ushuaia, Argentina and Chile.

Swiss World Cup groups 2 and 3 flew to Ushuaia on Aug. 10. At the beginning of the trip, snow conditions were not very promising, but rain on the third day of training was followed by almost two weeks of perfect conditions. Even with different snow conditions, the athletes could practice on everything from aggressive, hard and icy slopes to spring snow. The conditions were so good that Carlo Janka, Mauro Caviezel, and Thomas Tumler stayed in Ushuaia for two extra days before heading to Chile.

The training was a great success for the whole group and is encouraging for the upcoming season. The only low point in the week in Ushuaia was the injury of Reto Schmidiger who tore a ligament in his right knee and will not return to competition until November.

The women’s team, who mostly focused on technical training, enjoyed three weeks of near perfect conditions. Thanks to the good conditions, some speed training was also possible. For the athletes, it was also positive that they could train with the Swiss men’s team as well as the Austrians and Italians.

The greatest turbulence the team experience was on their journey to Ushuaia. They faced similar travel issues to the Italians due to an airline strike and mechanical issues with one of the planes. The team had to stay at the Madrid airport, where they were able to catch a later flight to Argentina. Already a few days behind schedule, in Buenos Aires they missed the plane for the final leg to Ushuaia and did not arrive until six hours later than expected.

Another low point came with the injuries og Joana Haehlen and Nadja Kamer-Jnglin. Both suffered knee injuries in giant slalom training. While Haehlen tore her ACL and will miss the entirety of the coming season, Kamer-Jnglin suffered a cartilage injury and may be able to return at a yet unknown time.

The speed team was less lucky in Chile. The venues would have been perfect, both at Corralco and Nevados de Chillan. In Nevados de Chillan, there are two different downhill runs, each with a very different terrain profile. Even for the super G, coaches have two options and the infrastructure improves every year. Unfortunately, the team could not choose its weather, and snow, fog, and wind forced several days of improvisation. The trip to Chile has nevertheless worthwhile as the training opportunities which were possible showed that the men are on the right track.

Release courtesy of Swiss-Ski

Share This Article

About the Author: SR Staff Report