Kristoffersen skis to slalom victory in snowy Wengen

The conditions were tough, and the snow was coming down, but Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) led a thrilling race to capture victory in the men’s slalom stop in Wengen on the Audi FIS World Cup tour.

Kristoffersen improved upon his first run with a time of 53.60 seconds to pace the field. The veteran used a nearly flawless run through the gates on a track with many ruts that were not easy to navigate in the heavy snow.

“I just had to push and be smart down the pitch. I thought I was pretty smart because there were big ruts. The rest down the hill there were some spots too but, everything went great,” said Kristoffersen.

The win is the second victory and seventh podium of the season for Kristoffersen. The Norwegian adds to his decorated career with his 79th career World Cup podium.

With the win he extends his lead in the season’s slalom standings and will wear the red bib into next weekend.

“Oh of course I was emotional after finishing. When I knew that Lucas (Braathen) was leading by a second and I beat him by half a second I was happy, for sure,” added Kristoffersen.

Coming down the mountain last in the second run was Loic Meillard (SUI) who finished in the runner-up position.

Meillard had one shaky turn at the top of the course that proved crucial as the Swiss skier came across 0.20 seconds off Kristoffersen’s pace. The Swiss home crowd roared him across the line, but it was not enough for Meillard to pick up his first win of the year.

“It would be nice to be on top of the podium, but it was a good race. I tried to push but I had a few mistakes that cost too much and that makes a difference,” said Meillard.

It was the fourth podium of the season for Meillard and 12th of his World Cup career.

Rounding out the podium was another Viking of the Norwegian team, youngster Lucas Braathen (NOR).

The 22-year-old thought he may have captured his fourth win of the season but was bumped down after his teammate Kristoffersen bested him by 0.49 seconds.

“I was super stoked about my performance, holy s**t it was a war. So, I am super stoked to make it to the finish and see green lights in front of a huge crowd. It is a shame that my finish did not hold and may have cost me second place and the fight for victory with Henrik today,” said Braathen.

Braathen now has nine career podiums to his name, and it is the first time he reached the podium this season without finishing first.

The Norwegian men had a great weekend in Wengen as Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) took the double in the speed events.

The tour now moves to the famed Kitzbühel course in Austria for two downhill and one slalom races.