The days between the overseas race and the home World Cup in St Moritz are tight. Between the two weekends, athletes switch continents, shake off jetlag and adapt to conditions in Upper Engadin. The transfer didn’t go completely smoothly this week.

When we arrived in Zurich-Kloten on Monday, some parts of the luggage were still missing, then they were delivered. “Travel takes more energy than expected,” says Corinne Suter, Friday evening at the Team Hotel in St. Moritz. On Tuesday, I felt tired for a while and Sutter lay in bed for a long time.

One day of recovery was enough, and “soon” he resumed with fitness training. The trip to St Moritz took place on Thursday, followed by skiing on the World Cup slopes on Friday. There was no actual training as there were no downhill runs this year, but two Super-G’s (Saturday/Sunday).

six weeks of training leave after the fall

On his trip to North America, Sutter took a step in the right direction, though the signs were bad. She came from a training injury in late September. She fell at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour and found bruises on both the plateaus of the tibia. Earlier in the week, he shared a picture on social media, which is from after the fall. The fat on his face suggests that the suitor was very lucky.

After the fall, she had to take a six-week break from training. She has now left the injury behind. He doesn’t feel any pain anymore. But she says: “I noticed that I lack light-heartedness. But with every swing I win it back a little bit.”

preparation is never bad

There were provoking factors in Canada as well. The external conditions at the training camp in Nakiska were not ideal. There was a lot of wind and a soft slope. “We’ve never been so badly prepared,” Sutter says.

In the end, little was clear about the difficult prehistory in the two runs. Sutter finished fifth and third. It also influenced women’s head coach Beit Tsuor. He says: “Korin is a champion. Your performance was excellent. And although he had so little preparation time.” She herself, the downhill world champion, puts it in perspective: “It’s not like I wake up in the morning and say: ‘I’ll be third’. It takes a lot.” Over the past few weeks he has deliberately built small breakthroughs, for example when the pace is good or some routes are fast.

Only running can help overcome self-doubt

She no longer allows the infamous suspicions that got in her way in earlier days. And yet a certain uncertainty after an injury is logical. “Still a little skeptical. But for the time being I’m ready to learn how to deal with these thoughts.” In fact, only running helps in gaining confidence. She says: “It gets better every day.”

Sofia Gogia has been better than everyone else so far. The ever-daring Italian won all three speed races in Canada and will also be a favorite at St. Moritz over the weekend. On Corinne Suter, she had a little over two seconds in the first descent. In the second lineage, the Swiss woman was able to cut the gap in half. “Everything went perfectly together in the Gogia. But I think the more we drive, the closer we get to that,” says Suter. Would that be possible on the Corviglia?

Sutter connects good feelings with Graubünden Ski Resort. She describes St. Moritz as one of her favorite races, before laughing. “Someone told me before that my best result here was sixth.” She secured the above sixth position in December 2019. It was the last World Cup race ever held in St Moritz.