Paris: “We should return to the old ski calendar”

After the 3rd place in the Super-G in Kvitjfell on Sunday - it was the 47th podium of his career, the 15th in a Super-G - there was another rush. However, Dominik Paris, like his teammates Florian Schieder and Christof Innerhofer, didn't have to get from the start to the finish as quickly as possible, but instead had to go to the airport to catch the plane to Munich. From there we went home to Ultental on the same day.

It's now time for a break for Domme. At least there is a break from racing, because only the World Cup final in Saalbach-Hinterglemm is left. And that only takes place between March 22nd and 24th.

The stage currently belongs to the technicians. They moved to the USA at the beginning of the week, where giant slalom and slalom will be raced this weekend in Palisades Tahoe in California and on March 2nd and 3rd in Aspen, Colorado.

12 races in 35 days That the speed riders between Val Gardena (2 downhill runs, one Super-G), Bormio (Downhill and Super-G), Wengen (2 downhill runs and Super-G), Kitzbühel (2 downhill runs) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (2 Super-G's) in Having to complete 35 races in exactly 12 days - not including the training rides - bordered on crazy. Only to only have to drive 28 speed races between January 22th and March 2nd - in just under 4 months.

Even for the most amateur skier it is clear: who created this World Cup calendar? FIS race director Markus Waldner has already explained in a detailed interview that there will no longer be a calendar in this form, but that his “hands were tied by the highest FIS authorities in the past”.

Dominik Paris has been busy lately. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

It is an open secret that FIS President Johan Eliasch has been campaigning for the USA races in February for years. And that he wants the season to start in Zermatt in November – with two speed races per gender. Only: The weather conditions are so unstable in autumn at almost 2 meters that no race has ever taken place in the past two years.

Too much is too much And what do the athletes say about this situation? For Dominik Paris the situation is clear: “My personal opinion is that we should go back to the old calendar with fewer races. True to the motto: fewer races, but better. In skiing, it is extremely important to focus on quality and not to force more and more races into the calendar. More and more races spoil the excitement. One descent in Wengen, one in Kitzbühel – and you’re done. And not double departures. This means that every victory loses value. Ski racing is not football or tennis, of which there are not enough. We have to fight for every spectator, because not everywhere is Kitzbühel or Wengen. This year we had 10 more races in the same period than before.” “I am against double departures. This means that every victory loses its value.” dominik paris Last Thursday there was a debate among the world's best athletes in Kvitfjell. Paris is tight-lipped about the result: “We sat together and it was a good meeting. I won't say what we talked about. Confidentiality was agreed upon.”

When Marcel Hirscher dominated the Ski World Cup (8 major crystal balls from 2012 to 2019), the FIS was always criticized for the fact that a speed specialist with fewer races on the calendar would have no chance of holding up. So an attempt was made to equalize the number of speed races with those in technology.

This year there were originally 13 downhill runs and 8 super-Gs (makes 21) compared to 11 giant slaloms and 13 slaloms (24). But of course the probability of cancellation is much higher in a speed race than in a slalom. Fewer speed races are not a problem for Dominik Paris. He says: “A Marco Odermatt is world class in three disciplines. So he is predestined to win the big ball. Maybe Kilde, maybe Schwarz can still get involved, for everyone else the little crystal balls remain. But that's fine. I would rather be in favor of a different solution.”

Paris with an alternative proposal Domme already explained to the Dolomites in January what that could be: “There should be 10 races per discipline on the calendar, but only the best 7 results per discipline should count for the overall World Cup. For the small balls, all results should count, then all calculations would fall through the cracks.”

Of course, he doesn't like the fact that the World Cup season has basically been over since mid-February for the Ultner, as for all speed riders: “Put your feet up and go into vacation mode, that's not possible. I'll be testing a lot of material in the next few days and weeks, mainly skis with a view to next season, but also new shoes. And of course train, in the weight room or on the snow. The season doesn't end for another month, so the race mode remains intact. But one thing is clear: such a long break is not nice." And finally adds: "There are so many students at the FIS that I don't even know whether someone like me needs to make any suggestions on how to do it Calendar could be designed better.”

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Paris: “We should return to the old ski calendar”

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