Season conclusion: “Every race was a thriller”

Looking back, what is your balance of the season? Andreas Castiglioni: “We had already had to postpone the start of the World Cup – that’s what comes to mind straight away. But that was the situation. After 2 weeks of winter it got warm and in Winterleiten (AUT) the track literally melted away. So the World Cup just started at the beginning of January 2020, but the conditions in Winterleiten were great.” For the first time, the team competition was held in the new format. An improvement? Castiglioni: “Right at the start in Winterleiten, the first team competition in the new format was on the program, the new formula with two single-seaters (at least one woman) was very well received. It's much better this way, also because more nations take part in the team competition, since not every nation had a doubles team. For example, Argentina was able to achieve great results in the team competition.” The second stop was Passeiertal... Castiglioni: “The World Cup in Moos was a celebration for the entire Passeier Valley. From a sporting perspective, the Grünboden track was in perfect condition and the OC did a great job. The only pursuer was on the program there, also in the new format. The pursuer was a bit long-winded at the beginning, so we have to improve that. One idea is to do a qualifying session the day before so that the round of 16 races can start straight away on race day. We also have to come up with something for the name, because many sports journalists imagined a pursuit race like cross-country skiing.” How were the races in Romania? Castiglioni: “Vatra Dornei is always an experience. This time it started a little slow because the track wasn't quite finished. But then it was a great event, great weather and a surprising number of spectators were at the track. In my opinion it was the best Vatra Dornei ever.” The classic in Deutschnofen marked a preliminary decision in the fight for overall victory, right? Castiglioni: “Deutschnofen was first class as usual, everything from AZ was perfect. With a classic, that's just how it is. The result in the men's single-seater was certainly a surprise. With the victory of Thomas Kammerlander (AUT), a preliminary decision was made for the overall World Cup 2019/2020. The races from Zelezniki (SLO) had to be moved to Lasa. A good decision? Castiglioni: “First and foremost, it was a necessary decision. The train in Zelezniki simply fell victim to the thaw and we would never have been able to travel there. Because a Junior World Cup had recently been held in Lasa, it was a logical decision. After a five-year break, Laas has celebrated a fantastic comeback on the World Cup stage.” The World Cup came to an end in Umhausen. Was the finale the expected highlight? Castiglioni: “Umhausen was certainly the highlight of the season, and a milestone was set with the live stream. It was no longer “just” the broadcast of the races, but a five-hour broadcast on Saturday evening with analyses, expert discussions, etc. It was broadcast on five channels via Facebook, four channels on YouTube and three channels on television. The dress rehearsal for the 2021 World Cup was more than successful, the new buildings take Umhausen to a whole new level.” Your conclusion about the season? Castiglioni: “We had two women’s winners and four athletes were on the podium. We had three different winners in the men's category and two in the doubles. And in the team competition there were two winners and four nations stood on the podium. It was an extremely exciting season in the men's single-seater, four athletes fought until the final for victory in the overall World Cup. Every race was a thriller.”

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Season conclusion: “Every race was a thriller”

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