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Cortina d'Ampezzo (dpa) - Who will grab the first gold medals at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo?
After the flood of cancellations due to the weather in the first three days, the title fights in Italy with the Super G races for women (10.45 a.m.) and men (1.00 p.m. / ARD and Eurosport2 respectively) should finally start on Thursday.
The list of contenders for precious metal in the Dolomites is long - and after various serious injuries it has lost a few big names.
The Norwegian overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and his up-and-coming compatriot Lucas Braathen, the Italian downhill ace Sofia Goggia (all knee injuries) or the American Ryan Cochran-Siegle (cervical vertebra fracture) who was strong this winter - none of them are there after their falls.
And for the Norwegian Adrian Smiseth Sejersted, the World Cup in Cortina was over again before it even started because of knee problems.
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The starting fields on this Thursday are also prominently occupied.
In the women's category, Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland is the big favorite in the Super-G after four wins this season in a row.
In addition to the overall Slovak World Cup leader Petra Vlhova, defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), who will contest her first speed race this winter, is definitely good for the big coup.
Then there are Corinne Suter (Switzerland) and Tamara Tippler (Austria), who are right behind the leading Gut-Behrami in the Super-G World Cup.
Outsider Kira Weidle is the only German athlete to take part.
In the men's race, the Austrians Vincent Kriechmayr and Matthias Mayer have the best chances of a golden start to the World Cup on the new Vertigine slope.
You have to “take your heart in your hand and risk the last,” said Kriechmayr, who won the Super-G dress rehearsal in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and also leads the current World Cup ranking in this discipline - followed by Olympic champion Mayer.
The four Germans want to cause a surprise, especially Romed Baumann and Andreas Sander, who are already strong in the season.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210210-99-386262 / 2
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