A grand 30th birthday for Pinturault

Alexis Pinturault had a dream 30th birthday today, earning both the small globe in giant slalom in addition to securing the Overall Title with a 107-point lead heading into tomorrow’s final race of the season.

Pinturault earned the globes in grand fashion, picking up the victory today 0.20 seconds ahead of Croatian Filip Zubcic and 0.21 ahead of teammate Matthieu Faivre. Pinturault earned the victory thanks largely in part to a strong first run, which saw him leading the field with a solid 0.81 second advantage going into Run 2.

The double-globe day for the Frenchman caps what has been a rollercoaster ride in the last month of Audi FIS World Cup ski action with Pinturault and Marco Odermatt in a head-to-head battle for the two globes.

“I was really tired after the World Championships and struggled the last few weeks,” said Pinturault after the race. “After Kranjska Gora, I was really frustrated. And Marco was getting really good results, so I felt the pressure. Today, it was clear what I had to do – I actually felt more pressure in Kranjksa than I did today.”

On the other side of coin, the young Odermatt was virtually out of contention already after the first run as he struggled with the course conditions and finished 10th. Ultimately the Swiss finished the race in 11th place and closed the season in second place in the giant slalom standings, trailing by 25 points.

For Pinturault, the Big Globe has been a long time coming. He paid his dues in the shadows during the Hirscher era of dominance and had to watch his chance to battle for the Overall Title last year disappear as the end of season races were cancelled due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.