Déjà vu Day in Adelboden Giant Slalom

Alexis Pinturault did it again. For the second straight day he was victorious at the Audi FIS men’s World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden.

While yesterday was smooth sailing for the Frenchman, today was more of a challenge as he sat in second place after the first run behind Loic Meillard (SUI). But a flawless second run, pushed Pinturault to the victory. For a second straight day he finished ahead of Filip Zubcic, who was closer today, finishing 1.26 seconds off the winning pace. Meillard was very lucky to hang on for third place as he had a big mistake mid-race but recovered and hung on for his third career giant slalom podium.

“I am very happy to get these two wins here in Adelboden,” said Pinturault after the race. “It was for sure very difficult today. Loic had such a strong first run that I knew I had to push hard in the second run. I’m happy with how I’m skiing, but it’s a long break until the next giant slalom at the World championships in Cortina.”

There was a dark moment in today’s race as American Tommy Ford suffered a hard crash just before the finish line. He had to be transported to Bern by helicopter for further evaluation. Official information was not available on his condition, although the American team tweeted that he wa conscious while he was being transported.

Pinturault is now the clear leader in the giant slalom standings with 440 points, building on his lead over Marco Odermatt (SUI), who trails by 40 points. Odermatt fell just short of the podium today, finishing in fourth place. Just 0.02 seconds separated the two Swiss teammates for the final podium place.

For Pinturault, it was a day of three’s. Today was his third straight giant slalom victory and his third career giant slalom victory in Adelboden. Most notably, today was Pinturault’s 33rd career World Cup victory pulling him even with American Bode Miller.

Tomorrow, Adelboden will host its third race in as many days as the traditional Sunday slalom is scheduled. Today, the Bener Oberland resort dished up another day with dream conditions and organizers are hoping to make it a hat trick of sunny days for the slalom racers tomorrow.