“Dream victory” on familiar snow for Linus Strasser in Kitzbühel slalom
Jan 21, 2024·Alpine Skiing
Linus Strasser grew up ski racing in Kitzbühel and now he is a slalom champion at the famed Austrian ski racing mecca.
Fourth after the first run, Strasser (GER) laid down a scorching second run on the twisting, icy, and undulating Ganslern piste – one that held up for the victory as the final three racers Manuel Feller (AUT), Daniel Yule (SUI) and surprise first run leader Kristoffer Jakobsen (SWE) all failed to overtake him.
It was a special and highly emotional day for the veteran 31-year-old German racer. His family was present in the finish area to witness the dramatic victory.
“It feels like the circle of the history is closing again – it’s done, I was always dreaming about it, I believed in it, especially the last two years,” Strasser said after the victory. “The mission was always to get a “Gans” to be on the podium, winning is a different story," he said, referring to the iconic 'chamois' trophy.
“It happened today, so I am unbelievably happy,” he said. “I don’t know what to say.”
Strasser achieved his third career World Cup slalom win and becomes the first German to win a slalom in Kitzbühel since Felix Neureuther in 2014.
His two-run winning time of 1:40.36, was 0.14 seconds faster than runner-up Jakobsen, and 0.20 seconds ahead of third place finisher Yule. Strasser clocked the fastest time of the 30 racers to take on the afternoon run, contested under mostly cloudy skies.
Strasser hoisted the famed Kitzbühel gold “Gams” or Chamois trophy on a game-changing day in the German racer’s career. For it to come at the resort where he began racing just enhanced his elation.
His previous World Cup win came at the Schladming ‘Night slalom’ in January 2022. Strasser will enter the upcoming Austrian race in three days, highly confident and among the favorites.
Following three consecutives DNF’s this season Sweden’s Jakobsen charged out to the first run lead, 0.05 seconds faster than two-time Kitzbühel slalom champion Yule, who won here last season and in 2020.
Seeking his first career World Cup victory the 29-year-old Jakobsen skied confidently under immense pressure, especially on the lower section, skillfully navigating the tricky right sidehill approaching the finish, but ultimately came up 0.14 seconds short. It was the third career World Cup podium for the Swede, but first since Madonna di Campiglio in December 2022.
“It’s unbelievable, I was not expecting a lot from today and with this hill, one of the favorites, but it changes fast, the slalom turns quick,” Jakobsen said.
The performance was especially impressive considering that Jakobsen has been trying to regain his form after three recent DNF’s in Wengen, Adelboden and Madonna di Campiglio.
“I’ve had such tough times before here and you start to question if you should continue skiing – you need to have some results for skiing to be fun, and when you’re struggling too much you lose the fun and the confidence, so this means everything to me,” Jakobsen said.
“I had thoughts from Schladming where I also had a big lead two years ago,” he said. “I started safe, then I felt really secure after the two rollers and I just skied my skiing.”
With a victory, Jakobsen could have become the first Swede to win in Kitzbühel since Jens Byggmark notched two triumphs in 2007. The legendary Ingemar Stenmark won here five times.
Yule also came up just a few tenths short in his bid to win his third Kitzbühel slalom on the Ganslern course. The Swiss racer was second behind Jakobsen after the morning run, and settled for third. It was his fourth slalom podium at the Austrian resort.
Still, he displayed disappointment in the finish area after his run.
“As a ski racer, when you come to the finish you want to see green, but I’m really happy with a podium in Kitzbühel and to add another ‘Gams’ to the collection is amazing.”
Yule wasn’t intimidated by icy conditions on the demanding piste, taking on a second run course set by a Swiss coach, noting that he was more than prepared for the challenge.
“It’s really icy, as always in Kitzbühel, but they do an amazing job on the slope. With Fischer we have a set-up that works really well in these conditions – I showed up for the inspection on the first run, I saw how icy how it was and I had a big smile on my face,” Yule said.
World Cup slalom leader and Austrian fan favorite Manuel Feller was seeking his third consecutive slalom triumph and fourth of the season. However, early mistakes in his run were costly and he could manage no better than fourth, 0.59 second off the podium.
Still, Feller remains comfortably atop the season slalom standings with a 187-point lead over Strasser after five races.
One of the best second run performances came from Croatian Istok Rodes, who vaulted 13 places after the first run to land an 11th place finish, fresh off his career best of tenth in Wengen.
“The second run I decided to go full gas and it paid off,” said the 27-year-old Croatian.
The Norwegians strugggled immensely in the first run. Henrik Kristoffersen was first out of the gate with a fresh track in the morning run, but was far from his best and only narrowly qualified for the afternoon run in 30th.
Atle Lie McGrath, riding the momentum of two consecutive second place finishes, lost his right edge near the top of the Ganslern and skied off course. Sebastian Foss-Solevang and Alexander Steen Olsen were also first run DNF’s, while Timon Haugan failed to complete his second run.
Next up on the Audi FIS World Cup schedule are a pair of night races in Schladming, a giant slalom on Tuesday the 23rd, followed by the famed slalom on Wednesday.
