Braathen crashed badly in 2021 – Too much fear of another horror fall – Norwegian breaks off races

There is a lot going on in Adelboden. The Chuenisbärgli once again wrote special stories. On the one hand there was the total monster ride by Marco Odermatt in the giant slalom. The 24-year-old hung out on the steep slope and took the lead thanks to a fantastic drive! The chances of a Swiss victory in Adelboden? More than good. Then there was the singing of “Happy Birthday” from thousands of throats because it is the Swiss ski star Justin Murisier’s birthday today.

And: There were still the countless drivers who failed in the first run. To be precise, after 30 drivers: 9. Luca De Aliprandini, Michelle Gisin’s friend, was the first to hit. He threaded in and fell violently. After all: he was able to get up on his own and probably not injured himself badly.

Lucas Braathen also did not make it into the second run. The young Norwegian made it through to the finish slope cleanly and kept the gap within limits. But then he broke off his run (see video above). Was he afraid after his serious fall a year ago? After the race, the 21-year-old told SRF: “I had little stability in my left leg. Then I thought of the Olympics and had great respect for the steep slope, so I stopped the run. Also because I had a bad fall here a year ago. ” A ripe decision by Braathen to be honored.

As a reminder, there were downright fall orgies at the Adelboden race last year. So it wasn’t just the young Norwegian who fell back then. Over 20 drivers did not finish the race. The three Norwegians Haugan, McGrath and Braathen in particular were seriously injured. Braathen fell out for months afterwards. He fell after crossing the finish line, hit his head hard. Team mate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde found violent words. When he saw the accident, he said: “When I saw the pictures, I was really shocked.”

Adelboden race director Hans Pieren then justified himself against 20 minutes. When asked about the difficulty of the slope, Pieren said: «It is what it is. That makes the Chuenisbärgli a classic and the most difficult slope of the World Cup. The course setting is decisive in whether it will be dangerous. ” It is nonsense that the slope is to blame for the falls. “Without the start and finish slope, the route is a red slope. A slope that is open to all skiers for the rest of the year », says Pieren. And: “The Norwegian trainer, the trainer from Kristoffersen, set the fastest run of the weekend.”

This year the race director can only watch the race from a distance. He, who has been responsible for the races in Adelboden for 25 years, waved to the drivers from his house. The reason: He is in isolation after a positive corona test. He is lucky that his house is within sight of the racetrack.