“The new rule is a bad joke”

In the already controversial parallel giant slalom, the distances between the nets are now reduced to a minimum. Justin Murisier criticizes the FIS for this approach.

Parallel giant slalom is considered an extremely problematic discipline in the Ski World Cup. Several pilots have already publicly complained about the format. Alexis Pinturault upsets the unfair and dangerous conditions of the competition. And Loïc Meillard, who won the small crystal ball in this discipline last season, criticizes the few races. “This parallel format is not well thought out,” Meillard concluded last winter.

This winter there is only one race in the parallel giant in Lech (Austria) at the end of November. A new rule is about to come into force, which is already putting a strain on the drivers’ minds. The FIS has reduced the distance between goals in the parallel giant. Previously, the doors were about 26 meters apart from each other, but in the future the space between them will not exceed 20 meters.

“The new rule is a bad joke,” Justin Murisier tells “Blick” and explains the problem as follows: “In parallel training, I felt like a four-meter-wide racing car driver with a vehicle more than two meters wide. I have to drive the slope. The new gate distances are too short for our giant slalom skis, which have a radius of 30 meters. “

Justin Murisier would have liked to consolidate his previous performance in Sölden. With the new rules that might be impossible. With 11th place he achieved his best World Cup result in giant slalom since his third cruciate ligament tear in summer 2018.