Linus Straßer with his wife Maria. © alpinguin

Kitz gondola for Straßer: The day of the slalom ace

In January, Linus Straßer secured a home victory on the Ganslern slope, where the Munich native once learned to ski. The ceremonial handover of the gondola took place on the Hahnenkamm cable car. The slalom star, who lives in Kirchberg, was moved and proud: "For me, the victory on the Ganslern was a childhood dream come true."

July 21, 2024

From: pm/sn

It was January 21, 2024 in Kitzbühel and "it was the perfect day" in the life of Linus Straßer. It was the day when things came full circle for the 31-year-old German. He finally won the slalom on the Ganslernhang in Kitzbühel - on his Ganslernhang. This is where he learned to ski, this is his home, this is where he has celebrated Christmas every year and this is where he made his first big impression as a six-year-old (!): At the request of his father Georg, he was allowed to race down the Ganslernhang in front of Mario Mittermayer-Weinhandl, then a children's coach at the Kitzbühel Ski Club, now race director of the Hahnenkamm races.

Little Linus was so impressed that he trained at the KSC from then on and over the years made the Ganslern slope his own. On Saturday, big Linus was given his own Hahnenkamm gondola for his World Cup victory in January - and hundreds of fans were there to celebrate with him. Among them were his parents Georg and Sonja, his wife Maria with daughter Marta, ex-coach Mathias Berthold, his former team-mate Fritz Dopfer and a large delegation from TSV 1860 Munich, for whom Linus Straßer competes.

At the ceremony in the Hahnenkamm cable car, the slalom star (who lives in the neighboring town of Kirchberg) remembered his first years at the Kitzbühel Ski Club: "When we used to meet here at 8.30 a.m. for training, we always looked to see which gondola was coming: those of Hermann Maier, Stephan Eberharter, Kjetil André Aamodt, Pirmin Zurbriggen and Toni Sailer were our highlights. Of course, we dreamed of winning here one day and then getting a gondola. But for a long time I didn't believe that it would actually happen," Linus Straßer openly admitted - which was due to his "relatively poor" record on the Ganslern.

“But for a long time I didn’t believe that it would actually happen.” Linus Strasser

Before he finished fourth in 2023, just a hair's breadth behind, he only had two 14th places to his credit: "When I finished fourth, I got my first whiff of the golden chamois and realized that it is possible to win here." Twelve months later, his feeling became reality. How much this (home) victory means to Linus Straßer was also visible on the Hahnenkamm after the ceremony. In a brief moment in which no one spoke to him or asked him for an autograph or photo, he suddenly stood all alone in front of his gondola and looked at it contentedly.

Straßer celebrated his slalom victory. © APA / ERWIN SCHERIAU

This success touched Linus Straßer's former trainer Mario Mittermayer-Weinhandl no less - in January and now in July. The current race director of the Hahnenkamm races vividly remembered the "beginning of a journey together" when he saw him for the first time on the Ganslern as a six-year-old: "What always distinguished Linus: He never complained. It didn't matter whether he hadn't seen his parents for two months or had to train at 6 a.m. - before school," said Mario Mittermayer-Weinhandl and concluded with the words: "Linus, thank you for letting me accompany you. Thank you for you and your parents putting your trust in me."