Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Temperature: -17°C Clouds: Cloud and Visibility OK
Maribor, Slovenia.
Temperature: -15°C Conditions: Mist Clouds: Clear Skies
Portoroz, Slovenia.
Temperature: -7°C Clouds: Cloud and Visibility OK
Maribor hosted the 41st Golden Fox ski race this weekend.
To paraphrase Gary Lineker: "The Golden Fox is a simple competition; 70 women go racing down a slope and in the end, Anja Paerson always wins."
On Sunday, Anja Paerson of Sweden took the Golden Fox trophy for the third consecutive time, and won the slalom event for the fifth consecutive time. "It’s a special place for me," she later told reporters.
Meanwhile, Slovenia’s Tina Maze managed to win the giant slalom event on Saturday — to the absolute delight of the home crowd. But she fell to the inevitability of Paerson the next day, meaning that Slovenia’s eight-year dry spell on Pohorje continues.
The gorgeous weather (and Maze’s hoped-for win) made this year’s event a lot more enjoyable than previous ones. I was a bit surprised by the low turnout on Sunday, but was told repeatedly that it had a lot to do with ticket prices. Standing room was SIT 2000 (8 euros) while bleacher seats rang in at SIT 6000. (25 euros) Certainly high for local circumstances.
Either way: congratulations to Anja, this year’s (and next year’s) Golden Fox!