Alpine skiing-Austria the unlikely underdogs in downhill, says coach

BORMIO, Italy, Feb 3 - When it comes to Alpine ski racing, no nation takes it quite as seriously as Austria where the sport is followed with religious fervour and the deeds of past greats weigh heavily on those tasked with meeting sky-high expectations.

As the world's best ski racers gather for the Milano Cortina Olympics, the scrutiny will intensify although expectations this time are surprisingly low.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the men's downhill, which kicks off the Olympic Alpine skiing programme on Bormio's fearsome Stelvio track on Saturday.

Austrian men have delivered gold a record seven times in the blue-riband Olympic speed race with the names of Toni Sailer, Franz Klammer, Leonhard Stock and more recently Fritz Strobl and Matthias Mayer tripping off the tongue.

But with a Swiss team led by generational talent Marco Odermatt and Stelvio king Dominik Paris spearheading a powerful cohort of Italians, it would be a real turn-up if an Austrian was standing on top of the podium on Saturday.

"Downhill would be actually at the moment really a little bit surprising if we take a medal," Austria's Racing Director Marko Pfeifer told Reuters at the team hotel on Tuesday.

"We've had just one (World Cup) podium (this season) in Wengen from Vincent Kriechmayr so I think we are a little bit the underdogs, but that can be also an advantage.

"I'd prefer that we would have some more victories in downhill but that's not how it is. But I know big events are always special. They have special rules. And to be the good underdog is sometimes an advantage from the other ones.

"I think we are in a good position, and we keep relaxed and pushing, and we can make a surprise."

The 34-year-old Kriechmayr is the highest-placed Austrian in the World Cup downhill standings in sixth place.

But the picture looks far more rosy in the super-G with Kriechmayr, Stefan Babinsky and Raphael Haaser second, third and fourth behind the dominant Odermatt.

The 29-year-old Babinsky made the super-G podium in Wengen and Kitzbuehel in the build-up and is full of confidence heading to his first Olympics where he hopes to emulate the great Austrian daredevil Hermann Maier who blasted to super-G gold in Nagano in 1998 and Mayer who won the event in 2018 and 2022.

"I would call it a childhood fantasy, you train your whole career, your whole life, for these moments but you still have to deliver your best performance on the day," he said.

"You have to say it's a huge privilege to be able to represent Austria at the Olympic Games."

Austria have won 121 Olympic skiing medals across men's and women's competition, almost double that of second-placed Switzerland who are traditionally their great Alpine rivals.

The battle for supremacy will continue on Saturday, but Pfeifer says it is more of a friendly rivalry.

"It's good this fight between Austria and Switzerland but between the races there is a close relationship," he said. "I think it's more the media, but the coaches too are a bit pushy." REUTERS