Kristoffersen back at the very top in slalom
Aug 31, 2018·Alpine Skiing
It was a snowy night after the downhill in Kitzbuehel, leading into the slalom day with over 30 cm of fresh snow covering the track in the morning. But the course crew of the Ganslernhang was ready to face it and cleared the hill to offer great conditions for today’s slalom, despite almost continuous snowfall.
Marcel Hirscher is the measure of all things in slalom this season. Since Felix Neureuther’s victory in Levi, the six times Overall champion from Austria won all five slaloms of the calendar. His main contender Henrik Kristoffersen was never far behind though, earning six podiums out of six races this season. Today, after the first run, Kritsoffersen took the lead thanks to efficient skiing in the turny course on the Ganslernhang.
In the second run, the Norwegian could hold on to his lead despite a wild run, where he even passed his hand on his goggles to remove the snowflakes stuck on it. Kritstoffersen claimed his 15th slalom win, which allows him to surpass Benjamin Raich and Mario Matt and to equal Ivica Kostelic in 5th place of all time slalom wins.
The leader of all World Cup standings he is participating in Marcel Hirscher turned on the turbo in the second run, pushing hard to earn a 118 podium in career, 55th in slalom. 80 points added on the count for the Overall standings were enough to satisfy the Austrian champion, who already won the “goldene Gams” in Kitzbuehel in 2013 and 2017.
Daniel Yule was the surprise guest on the podium of today’s slalom. 4th after the first run +1.23 off the pace, the Swiss slalom specialist was able to make the jump on his first Top 3 in career. Yule established himself among the best slalom skiers during last season and could celebrate two 4th and one 5th place already this season. Today things aligned in Kitzbuehel and the 24 years old athlete could grab his first podium placement.
Second after the first run, Michael Matt skied out in the second run. The brother of Mario Matt, who won the slalom in Kitzbuehel in 1999, is in an excellent shape at the moment, ranking third in the discipline standings, but he needs to be more patient before celebrating his first podium in front of his home crowd.
In two days, the last slalom of the famous “slalom month” will be held in Schaldming. As per tradition, the famous “Night Race” will take place on Tuesday evening infront of thousands of spectators and offer the last slalom race before the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.
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