From Vlhova to the men's doldrums: The tops & flops of the ski winter

Top Peter Vlhova : The Slovakian was the first from her country to win the overall World Cup. Vlhova is a true all-rounder, the 25-year-old competed in all 31 races and made it to the podium in the slalom, giant slalom, parallel competition and super-G, but narrowly missed out on the podium in the downhill in fourth place. The combination was only on the program at the World Championships, where she came second, just like in the slalom.

Alexis Pinturault: The Frenchman had been chasing the dream of winning the overall World Cup for almost ten years. After two second and three third places, the time had finally come. The 30-year-old also conquered the first small crystal ball outside of combination, namely in the giant slalom.

Alex Vinatzer: It was a season with ups and downs for Alex Vinatzer, but at the end it should be said: The 21-year-old Wolkensteiner has arrived in the world elite. He got off to a brilliant start with a fourth and third place, then in January sand got into the gears (five races in a row without points) before things picked up again from the World Championships with a fourth place. There was also fourth place in the final race on Sunday. It was a brilliant finish for Italy's biggest slalom hope.

Alex Vinatzer reached the podium in Madonna for the second time in his career. © ANSA / ANDREA SOLERO

The Azzurre: With Marta Bassino, Federica Brignone and the long-term injured Sofia Goggia, three Italians are in the top ten in the overall World Cup. Together they collected 16 (!) podium finishes this winter. While Brignone had hoped for much more, Bassino and Goggia dominated their disciplines almost to the core and both crowned their season with a small crystal ball.

Corona concept: The hygiene concept, which was designed for the start in Sölden and then applied at the other stations, proved to be a safer set of measures. Of course, there were one or two positive Corona cases, but overall the women's and men's entourage, which was largely divided into speed and technical bubbles, got through the winter well. FLOPS Italy's technicians: Italy has never mourned the times of the “Valanga Azzurra” with Gustav Thöni and Piero Gros or the dazzling Alberto Tomba as much as last winter. Only the up-and-coming Alex Vinatzer and World Cup medalist Luca De Aliprandini provide bright spots in the slalom and giant slalom, respectively. Apart from Vinatzer's third place in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy does not have a single podium finish in the technical disciplines. However: Even in the speed competitions, the Azzurri, in the person of Dominik Paris, only made it onto the World Cup podium twice.

The final week: In principle, it makes sense that it is stipulated that if races are canceled in the final week, they will not be rescheduled during the week. The national teams or hosts could act depending on the ball chances still available. Perhaps the concept should still be reconsidered: One possibility would be that if the predetermined minimum number of races in a discipline was not reached, this would then be given priority.

Speed versus technology: The speed riders repeatedly complain that they have no chance of winning the overall World Cup because of the racing calendar. There were 22 technical races for men this year, but only 13 speed competitions. Two downhill runs and a Super-G were canceled, so it wasn't balanced right from the start with the technical deficit of 22:16 - much to the chagrin of Paris and Co.

Injuries: There were also numerous serious injuries this season, including Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the overall winner of the previous season. Of course, most failures must be viewed individually, but experts nevertheless recognize a pattern according to which the increasingly aggressive material in combination with the course setting plays a significant role in the large number of serious knee injuries. The FIS could start here, as well as by streamlining the racing calendar to allow for more breathers.

Mood: The downside to the good Corona protection concepts was the necessary absence of spectators on site - apart from a few guests of honor. The sport of skiing is characterized by its proximity to the fans; fans can usually get up close and personal with their idols, especially in the finish area. The lack of atmosphere – especially in the traditional races – took some getting used to for many people, even in front of the television.

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From Vlhova to the men's doldrums: The tops & flops of the ski winter

The 2020/21 World Cup season in Alpine skiing is history and with it a five-month period that was more turbulent than any other winter ever before - and not just because of Corona. The number of winners and losers at the end of this season is huge. Here we provide our selection.

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