What can the South Tyroleans do at the Mountain Bike World Championships?

There are no South Tyroleans taking part in today's relay race. This was to be expected with Kerschbaumer, but with Lechner it was a bit of a surprise. “The coach’s decision must be respected,” says Lechner. She's not really disappointed. If she had competed in the relay, she would have forgone the short track race tomorrow, Thursday. “I left the decision to the coach,” explains the woman from Eppan. In the relay races on Wednesday, Switzerland and France are among the favorites, while national coach Mirko Celestino's Azzurri have outside chances. This means Lechner can concentrate entirely on the individual races. “Everything is possible in short track,” she knows. In such a short race, only one thing counts: “Give it full throttle.” Kerschbaumer with subdued expectations The short track races are also getting serious for Kerschbaumer and Greta Seiwald from Gsies. While there was no qualification for the women, the men had to go through the qualification yesterday. “Gery” qualified 17th in his group (the preliminary rounds were divided into 2 groups) with the 30th best time out of 50 starters for the final of the best 40. Kerschbaumer doesn’t put himself under much pressure: “I have to face reality see, it's not my year. Short track racing isn't really my thing anyway, so let's see what happens." “I have to face the reality, it’s not my year.” Gerhard Kerschbaumer The starting position for the elite race on Saturday is also not ideal. “I don't need to think that after a season like this I'm one of the favorites here. “I just want to do a good race and don’t want to set myself any specific goals,” explains the Verdinger, who has had a difficult time so far this season and was particularly disappointed with his Olympic performance. In 2018 he won World Championship silver at Lenzerheide in Switzerland, but this time he doesn't have any great hopes for a medal. World Cup debut with the “big ones” for Seiwald Lechner goes into the race on Saturday as the reigning vice world champion. The season didn't go well for her either; at the Olympics she experienced bitter disappointment when she finished 25th, just like Kerschbaumer (20th). But last year she wasn't necessarily one of the top favorites either and surprised with silver. The 23-year-old Seiwald, who is celebrating her elite World Championship debut, wants to do good races and continue to work her way up to the top in the world. She received her second dose of vaccination against the coronavirus a week ago and is already feeling in top shape again. The downhillers start the World Cup on Friday. Rittner Hannes Alber would like to qualify for the finals on Sunday; participating in the World Cup is already a great success for him. Traminer Veronika Widmann is one of the extended circle of medal candidates.

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What can the South Tyroleans do at the Mountain Bike World Championships?

The Mountain Bike World Championships begin on Wednesday at Sulzberg/Val di Sole. You'll look in vain for big favorites from South Tyrol, because Eva Lechner and Gerhard Kerschbaumer have problems - but maybe that's exactly where the opportunity lies.

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