Haaser: "Then it's not that far to the top places anymore"
"Starting the season with a fifth place is very positive. I can live very well with this result," says the Tyrolean, who finished in the Top 10 in Sölden for the third consecutive time.
He said the first run was "not 100 percent" what he had imagined. "In the second run, there was more confidence; I trusted myself more. I skied better and more aggressively. Thankfully, it paid off completely."
After the successful start to the season, Haaser is confident of achieving more: "If it all comes together in two runs, the leap to the front positions won't be that far anymore."
Brennsteiner: "I waited for applause, but it didn't come"
The second-best ÖSV athlete is Patrick Feurstein in tenth place. The Vorarlberger finishes ahead of Stefan Brennsteiner, who dropped from an interim third place to eleventh.
The 35-year-old from Salzburg stood somewhat bewildered in the finish area of the Rettenbachferner.
"I felt really good, but unfortunately, I apparently didn't find the speed in the second run. In the first run, it was the opposite; I didn't feel good, but the speed was fine. I need to look at what went wrong. I crossed the finish line and was actually optimistic. I waited for the applause, but it didn't come," Brennsteiner recounts.
With Joshua Sturm in 17th place, a fourth ÖSV athlete entered the points ranks in front of 14,300 fans, securing important points that will improve his starting position.
Mitter: "Didn't quite put it all together"
ÖSV Alpine Director Christian Mitter draws a mixed conclusion from the opening weekend in Sölden.
"With the men, you can already see that we have a team. It wasn't that long ago that things would have been very thin after a Schwarz dropout," Mitter notes.
One must "certainly acknowledge" Haaser's fastest run time in the second run, as well as Brennsteiner's third-fastest run time in the second run.
Overall, it was a good performance by the ÖSV men. "There were good sections, but we didn't quite put it all together today - that's ski racing."
"We have a good plan for both genders"
Among the women, however, there is currently a lack of depth at the top.
"If July (Scheib; Note) drops out, it becomes difficult. The mid-tier with Astner, Hörhager, and Liensberger has really fallen short for us now. If Stephi (Brunner; Note) doesn't have a good run, it gets thin," Mitter addresses the obvious.
However, the results of the World Cup opener do not sound the alarm bells.
"We have a good plan for both genders. It's not a wild free-for-all where we say: Just ski, it'll be fine," Mitter explains.
It's also clear that the plan doesn't always work out. "If that always worked, everyone would be world champions anyway," says Mitter. "It's an incredibly exciting sport. A lot can happen, for better or worse."
The goal is a cohesive system. "With the men today, a lot went wrong with Blacky's (Marco Schwarz; Note) dropout, and yet it can still be somewhat compensated. That's where we want to get with the women as well."
That will now be the work for the coming weeks. The World Cup will take a break again for now, continuing at the end of November with the slaloms in Levi.
