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Kitzbühel (dpa) - Thomas Dreßen had to watch the three World Cups on the legendary Streif at home on TV - thanks to a quick healing, the best German downhill skier should be fit again on time for the season highlight at the World Cup in February.

The Mittenwald man, who had not yet competed in a competition this winter because of a hip operation and only went skiing for the first time last week, received a guarantee for the trip to Cortina d'Ampezzo from the German Ski Association.

"We will definitely take him with us," assured the German alpine boss Wolfgang Maier of the dpa.

At the World Championships in the Dolomites from February 8 to 21, the aces of the DSV are among the medal candidates, not least because of the impressive runs on the weekend and the Super G on Monday in Kitzbühel.

Dreßen could now become the wild card!

Whether the 27-year-old will actually be able to compete in Cortina will only become apparent during the on-site training, as Maier explained.

"Of course the World Cup is an issue," the athlete himself said last.

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“I would never leave a Dreßen, the best German downhill skier in history, at home,” affirmed the Alpine Director.

"It was out of the question for us that we should give him the chance."

Should the five-time World Cup winner feel ready to start in Cortina, the DSV could find themselves in the agony of choice, hardly imaginable a few years ago, that drivers would have to duel for the four starting positions during on-site training .

Two downhill skiers are safe from an internal elimination competition, namely Andreas Sander and Romed Baumann.

The two veterans showed their class on this weekend in Kitzbühel and go into the home races at the end of next week in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then the World Championships in Northern Italy with a lot of tailwind.

Sander finished the extended Kitzbühel week with ninth place in the Super-G, Baumann finished eleventh.

Josef Ferstl in 13th and Dominik Schwaiger in 17th rounded off a good result.

"That gives you a lot of self-confidence," said Sander before leaving Tyrol.

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Sander and Baumann were around one and a half seconds behind winner Vincent Kriechmayer.

The Austrian won ahead of the Swiss Marco Odermatt (+0.12 seconds) and his compatriot Matthias Mayer (+0.55).

"There are little things that didn't quite fit," said Sander about his Kitzbühel graduation on ZDF.

He didn't adjust his skis perfectly to the slope conditions, and some sections were not ideal.

“Of course you make mistakes,” emphasized the 31-year-old.

"The art is to lose little time with mistakes."

With places eight, five and nine - plus one outlier in 20th - Sander's Super-G record this winter is impressive.

"I'm really looking forward to Garmisch," said the Ennepetal now.

For team-mate Baumann, the Kitzbühel events were the home races, after all, the native Austrian grew up only a few kilometers away from the Streif.

In Garmisch, however, the home advantage should be the decisive factor for the DSV team.

"We have already been there to train and are very motivated," reported the 35-year-old.

Ferstl, who has been ailing in the past few weeks and has been struggling with his form, was able to rate 13th place as a step forward.

«The team is in a good mood, especially Andi and Romed.

Me and my colleagues are a bit behind, ”he said.

"But that's the nice thing: we can pull ourselves up to our best."

And maybe the very best will surprisingly be there again soon.

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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210125-99-163951 / 3

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