Matthias Mayer of Austria is lifted into an emergency helicopter after he crashed during the men’s downhill race at the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Val Gardena, northern Italy. Inset: Mayer in action before the crash.

DPA/Val Gardena, Italy


Matthias Mayer readily admitted early yesterday in hospital “it could have been much worse,” as the first inflation of an airbag in the alpine skiing World Cup is believed to have spared him from graver injuries than two fractured vertebrae.
The airbag inflated when Mayer lost control, spun 180 degrees in the air and crashed heavily onto his right side during Saturday’s downhill race in Val Gardena, Italy.
He was airlifted to a local hospital and then transferred to Innsbruck, Austria where he was operated overnight on two fractured thoracic vertebrae.
The injuries ended the season of the Olympic downhill champion but his condition could have been much worse if he had skied without the airbag.
“FIS is committed to the use of technology that can assist with the safety of the athletes and the airbag which has been developed over several seasons worked very effectively during Matthias Mayer’s crash in the Val Gardena downhill,” the ruling body FIS said.
“Both the athlete and Austrian team Alpine Director praised it’s effect on preventing a more serious injury, which is also a positive signal for the manufacturer and FIS technical experts working on improving safety measures.”
The D-air system from Italian manufacturers Dainese is used in the World Cup for the first time this season and featured for the sixth time in a race Saturday.
The Austrian Press Agency quoted Dainese official Marco Pastore as saying that five other skiers used the airbag in Val Gardena.
Guenter Hujara, a former race director and now technical adviser at the ruling body FIS was cautious to make a full assessment.
“I believe the airbag prevented worse injuries but I want to await the data. It helps but there is no system that prevents everything,” he said.
An airbag for skiers costs between 1,000 and 1,500 euros ((1,080-1,630 dollars), weighs 800 grams and protects the upper part of the body, neck, shoulders, back and chest.
It inflates when at least five of eight sensors determine that a skier has lost control. Pastore said the airbag inflated “when the skier was in the air, and a rotation took place which wasn’t normal.”
Determining the exact moment to inflate was crucial and required several years of testing because in skiing this moment is not as clear as in motorcycling where the airbag is also used and comes into action when a rider leaves the bike with a forward rotation.
The main concern is that the airbag inflates when a skier still has control, with Swiss skier Carlo Janka saying Saturday that “there is still not enough experience” and that “the danger of an accidental inflation remains.”
Like the Swiss, Norwegian race winner Aksel Lund Svindal is yet to use the airbag in competition, saying it is a bit bulky. But he has used it in training where athletes also reach top speeds of around 130kph.
“The athletes must slowly build up trust in this system and see that it helps and doesn’t slow down,” Pastore said.

Hirscher captures giant slalom to lead World Cup standings

DPA, Alta Badia, Italy:  World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher captured the men’s alpine ski giant slalom in Alta Badia for his fourth win of the season yesterday.
The Austrian came from second in the first run to clinch his 35th career win and 17th in giant slalom in a combined time of 2 minutes 33.34 seconds to regain the overall lead in the World Cup standings.
Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen was second, 0.19 seconds back, for his third podium place of the season which included a slalom victory last week in Val d’Isere, France.
Frenchman Victor Jeandet-Muffat led the first run as he sought a maiden World Cup win, but some errors in the second leg dropped him back to third for his third podium place of the season.
Hirscher, who is seeking a fifth consecutive overall World Cup title, tops the standings on 540 points, moving 20 points ahead of Saturday’s downhill winner Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway. Fellow Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud is third on 307 points.
Hirscher is the first skiier to win three giant slaloms in a row at the Gran Risa course in Alta Badia - regarded as one of the most difficult giant slalom courses on the World Cup circuit - after victories in 2013 and 2014.
It was his third giant slalom win in a row and he has been on the podium on all four of the season’s races.
“It was a hard fight. I was told at the start that Henrik (Kristoffersen) had a super run, so I just tried to squeeze everything out of it,” he said.