BORMIO, Italy — Austria's domination of the downhill stretches back nearly uninterrupted to the founding of the World Cup circuit in the late 1960s.
Now, though, skiing's "Wunderteam" is facing a crisis in the speed disciplines it ruled for so long.
With Michael Walchhofer's retirement at the end of last season, the Austrian men's team features only one racer who has won a World Cup downhill — Klaus Kroell, with two. And with nearly a third of the season gone, Austria hasn't won a single downhill or super-G.
Consider that Franz Klammer, Hermann Maier, Stephan Eberharter, Karl Schranz and Walchhofer won a combined 80 downhills. Klammer leads the list with 25 victories.
Austria coach Mathias Berthold says fans and media have to "stop dreaming that we can win every downhill."