Great show in Adelboden, with Pinturault taking the win
Aug 31, 2018·Alpine Skiing
The legendary Chuenisbärgli has a new champion! Alexis Pinturault won the Giant Slalom in Adelboden, after a very exciting second run where he beat out his main challenger Marcel Hirscher by +0.04 and Austria’s Philipp Schoerghofer.
With his 19 World Cup wins, Alexis Pinturault definitively surpassed Jean-Claude Killy’s French record today. The skier from Courchevel had a +0.70 margin from the first run, but he had to push hard and ski at the limit in the second run, as just before him Marcel Hirscher laid down an impressive run.
"I thought when I crossed the line that it was long enough for me today, one or two gates more and I would be maybe behind so I'm really happy about those four hundredths. It's a victory, so it's something very special. I heard the crowd but it was more or less like every time; you make the first run and then you have to make also the second run and push even maybe harder in the second run."
In second position, Marcel Hirscher writes history again, and step by step, keeps breaking records. He now has 100th World Cup podiums, a feat achieved only by ski legend Ingemar Stenmark so far (155 wins). He was very close to the victory, and he probably believed in it after crossing the finish line with an advantage of almost two seconds, but today Pinturault was stronger and Hirscher is still satisfied with this.
"You know, I'm super, super happy with my second run today, another eighty points in the books. For sure, first run was with this mistake not what I was hoping for and if I want to search for four hundredths of a second, this was the mistake in the first run, that is for sure. I am super happy with my skiing in the second run, that was amazing and it felt great and so it is a good day."
Austria’s placed another athlete on the podium today, with Giant Slalom specialist Philipp Schörghofer claiming his 6th World Cup podium. The 36 years old racer is only 24th of the second run, but a brilliant performance in the first run allowed him to grab the last spot in the Top3.
"It was a great day for me. It was a big target for me to be on the podium today. I always want to be on the podium in Adelboden as a GS specialist. It's so cool here to be on the podium, the crowd is so amazing and the hill is great. There's a lot of tradition here so I am very happy with my third place here."
Tomorrow, a slalom will be held on the Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden, starting at 10.30 / 13.30 CET.
