The last races before the Ski World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide resulted in a lot of drama, emotional farewells and an extraordinary atmosphere, which was undoubtedly improved by the weather, otherwise this season’s eternal tough opponent of the competitors.

In short: the 53rd Vitranc Cup was a total success – well, for everyone except for the Slovenes. The lowest score achieved in men’s Alpine skiing after Slovenia had achieved independence was willy-nilly the leitmotif of this weekend. However, as Tone Vogrinec said, this should not overshadow the fact that we had two excellent races which attracted many visitors (5,000 at giant slalom, and as many as 8,000 at slalom). It is true: the weather in March has really helped Kranjska Gora despite the fact that each year the organizers are hoping for snow to settle.

It is undoubtedly warm, and conditions on ski runs were difficult, but the organizers did an excellent job, so the competitors had no cross words – they just expressed relief at having been able to perform during the whole of the weekend the way we all wanted to, in spite of a long season of fairly normal circumstances, fog, lack of snow, snowdrift and rain.

Retirements and similar
For many competitors, the last races before the final also mean a farewell to this season, audience, and their colleagues. Some of them did not make it to the final, and some have decided to end their careers right in Kranjska Gora. Among the latter is also Mitja Valenčič, who dropped out in the first run of the slalom competition and stoically coped with his farewell to the white circus. Valenčič (36) is one of the oldest racers (e.g., Raich’s, Defago’s and Miller’s generation) and has built a 17-year-long career, during which he never succeeded to reach the winner’s podium. However, lately he was one of the Slovene racers who occasionally achieved scores.

Last season for Austrian veterans?
Of course, there are another questions arising. For the 36-year-old Benjamin Reich, the second place in giant slalom was without doubt a salve after a season which the Austrian skier wants to forget quickly. Although he won the overall 2006 World Cup, three victories at the World cup, two victories at the Olympics, and a victory of 36 races for the World Cup (also in Kranjska Gora), he did not want to comment for press what will happen with him next year. Besides, Mario Matt (34), whose career is experiencing a renaissance, has a few weeks ago in Sochi become the oldest Olympic slalom champion. He took the lead in the first run of the Vitranc Cup, but in the second run he made a mistake just before the finish. He did not want to tell us whether he would participate in the 2014/2015 season.

However, his 36-year-old compatriot Manfred Pranger is more loudly considering ending of his career. Ranked 17th, the former winner in World Cup slalom race failed in qualifying for the finals, so it is possible that this was his last race. Open to question is also the 34-year-old Italian specialist in giant slalom Massimiliano Blardone, who – as regards the skis – cannot conform to new rules in giant slalom. The ageless mystery is also Bode Miller, who this year for the first time after 2008 again came to Kranjska Gora, where he had won the cup two times.

For the 34-year-old Ivica Kostelić, the Olympic silver was really the only bright spot in this year’s season. Due to his chronic back and knee injuries, the Croat has been struggling for a few years since he won the 2011 overall World Cup. It seems that this season will probably be his last one. Despite his modest 27th place in slalom, the audience in Kranjska Gora greeted him as cheerfully as the winner.

Outright winners
Again, records were broken, and – like every year in Kranjska Gora – questions addressed to Ted Ligety: ‘What is it on that hill that associates it and the 29-year-old American with a legendary love story?’ On Saturday, Ligety won the Vitranc Cup for the sixth time, and thus gained an advantage over Alberto Tomba. Now, he is the only of the competitors who had won the World Cup hosted in the same venue for the most times. “This venue has always been good to me. It is a demanding hill, a hill with a character,” said the best skier in slalom of the last few years.

Kristoffersen (19) has won third place twice and thus become the convincing overall winner of the Vitranc Cup. The tiny Norwegian says that his idol is his compatriot Kjetil Andre Aamodt, and that his secret is training across all terrains and in all weather conditions. It is never too warm, too wet, too cold or too rutted for the teenager, who is – with total time in slalom – breathing down Hircher's and Felix Neureuther's necks.