On 6 January 2018, the time had come again – the event on the Chuenisbärgli slope in Adelboden was just around the corner. Once again, we prepared for the race on the Reiteralm in Austria, where there were great training conditions. As a result of the road to Adelboden collapsing, the Swiss Ski Team took a helicopter from Bern airport so that we could prepare for the race in the best possible way.
The atmosphere on the day of the race was brilliant; the weather could not have been better and my recently established fan club was out in full force! I gave the race my all and had a good, solid run. Unfortunately, I missed out on the second round again... I came in thirty-second place and just nine hundredths of a second away from the top 30.
Another race complete and on I went…
The following Monday, I immediately won an FIS giant slalom event in Savognin, Switzerland; at the same time, I became U21 Junior Swiss Champion, which was a huge boost to my confidence.
The next day, we moved on to Kirchberg in Austria, where two European Cup giant slalom events were set to take place. Once again, I performed really well in the two races and gained important points for the European Cup starting list with fourth place and my first European Cup podium place (third place).
The next two European Cup races took place in Folgaria, Italy, just one week later. With my brilliant results in Austria, I was able to bag myself a place in the first group to start. After two good – but not faultless – runs, I achieved a great second place in the first race. But I knew that anything was possible and so on the second day, I once again gave it my all.
This time, it was enough for me to become European Cup Champion in my speciality discipline for the first time. I also gained a very important 6.00 FIS points and am currently in second place in the European Cup discipline rankings!
With a great sense of self-confidence, I will tackle the next World Cup giant slalom event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Sunday and will give it everything I've got!
Next Tuesday, 30 January 2018, marks another season highlight with the Junior World Championships in Davos – I'm really looking forward to these races!
Warm regards and speak soon, Marco
