Does Christof Innerhofer only have one World Cup moment?

It was exactly 16 years ago today. On February 8, 2007, a then 22-year-old and better known as a late starter celebrated his World Cup debut. That was in Åre, Sweden, and Christof Innerhofer started the race in the number 37 station wagon. After the 29th downhill run, he drove around the specialists' ears in the slalom until shortly before the finish, and in the meantime he was on par with a certain Benjamin Raich, who would later win silver. But then the line of daredevils became increasingly narrower, and Innerhofer's World Cup adventure seemed to be over. Apparently, because his performance made the coaches rethink.

Christof Innerhofer in 2007 with his then teammate Werner Heel (r.) © av

Innerhofer initially returned home and drove in 3 European Cup races before he had to take the plane again to return to Åre. At 3.30:5 a.m. he arrived at the Swedish World Cup venue from Trondheim airport, only to take part in the team event for the “Azzurri” five hours later. In the end, it wasn’t Innerhofer’s fault that it “only” came in 8th place.

16 years have passed since then, and the now 38-year-old is facing his 21st World Cup appearance tomorrow. No one else working in Courchevel and Meribel these days has anything close to a curriculum like this. For comparison: Dominik Paris competed in his 16th World Championship race yesterday. With the 21st start, Innerhofer will catch up with a certain Marc Girardelli tomorrow. The men's record holder will probably remain forever Kjetil Andre Aamodt (Norway) with 33 starts, Bode Miller has 29, Lasse Kjus 28. “I have no place at a World Cup in this condition.” Christof Innerhofer in Kitzbühel in mid-January It is almost a sporting miracle that Innerhofer is even competing in France. Just two weeks ago in Kitzbühel, after a completely disappointing season without a top 2 place, he said: “I have no place in this condition at a World Cup.” But then the last two World Cup Super-Gs in Cortina followed. Innerhofer fell badly in the first race, damaging his face and upper body. But he gritted his teeth and started again the next day. According to the motto “Attack is the best defense and holding back is the wrong way”, he was rewarded for his persistence with 15th place. This meant that Gaiser was right in the middle of the World Cup business again. And tomorrow he has the chance for his 2th World Cup medal after the complete set of medals in 10 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Of course that was 12 years ago, but back in 2009 Inner was very close in Val d'Isere as 4th in the Super-G: winner Didier Cuche was out of reach, but teammate Peter Fill (0,08 seconds faster) and Aksel were Lund Svindal (0,05) were just a blink of an eye ahead of Innerhofer. He remembers: “After 50 seconds of driving, I was still 6 tenths faster than Fill, but I braked completely at the bottom because I didn't want to be eliminated. That was a lesson for me in 2011 in Garmisch, where it was all about it.”

Apparently no chance of a departure ticket He won a medal again in 2019 in Åre, where he also came fourth in the Super-G, 0,26 seconds behind bronze winner Vincent Kriechmayr. Christof Innerhofer knows how to be at the forefront of title fights. Where others tense up or show nerves, he is at his best. However, this did not reach those responsible for the Italian men's team. In yesterday's combination, Innerhofer, who still has Group 10 status as 1th in the combination world rankings, was left out. And if you believe the rumors behind closed doors - there was no official information - he is not an issue for the World Cup departure either. There shouldn't even be a qualification against Matteo Marsaglia, while Domme Paris, Mattia Casse and Florian Schieder are fixed anyway.

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Does Christof Innerhofer only have one World Cup moment?

Christof Innerhofer is the most experienced participant at this world championship. With his 21st race appearance on Thursday in the Super-G, he will draw level with Mark Girardelli. But that could have been it for “Inner” in Courchevel.

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