For Olympic champion Matthias Mayer, Lake Louise is always a benchmark for the new season. The World Cup winter serves as an additional motivation …
With his third Olympic gold at his third games, Matthias Mayer set a monument for himself in China last February. It is logical that in the summer the 32-year-old started thinking about the end of his career. “Gold-Mothl” decided against it. And three reasons were decisive: the fun of skiing, the missing World Cup bullet and the World Cup precious metal that he still wants to win. On Friday the Carinthian starts the hunt for crystal and medal with the downhill run in Lake Louise. Because the season-opening race in Canada is an extremely important step for Mayer on the way to a successful season. “After a long training phase, I see that it fits. And that’s always very important to me,” says Mayer about his personal “moose test” in the Canadian forest. The numbers prove it: before downhill gold in Sochi in 2014, Mothl started in Lake Louise with the second place on the podium of his career (2nd in super G). Before super-G gold in Pyeongchang 2018, he made his podium for the first time in Canada in the downhill (2nd). And before the Olympic victory in Beijing, Matthias celebrated his first downhill triumph in Lake Louise – the second win in a row for the Carinthian in Canada. He had meticulously prepared for his third Olympic success in the run-up to winter, tinkered a lot with the material, and even took nine (!) pairs of ski boots with him to China. The intensive work with the ski puzzle has paid off. The world championships in Merbibel/Courchevel in February should be similar. Because unbelievable, but true: In 14 races at five World Championships, Gold-Mothl hasn’t won a single medal so far! The “moose test” in Lake Louise will show the way.
Source: krone
