Swiss skier Odermatt becomes the first Swiss to win an overall title in 12 years after securing a win in the monster slalom World Cup Open. The event marks the start of the men’s World Cup, which will continue in Lech-Zurs on Nov. 13. Two of the scheduled downhill races in Zermatt-Cervinia have been postponed due to lack of snow.
Shiffrin wins the monster slalom World Cup open.
The Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin is the monster slalom World Cup winner in Utah. The American has now won 33 slalom world cup races. Marlies Raich holds the previous world record. In this race, the course was rearranged because of strong winds in the upper section. The new course layout reduced the run times by 10 seconds. Olympic slalom champion Frida Hansdotter came close to the leader, but the Americans stayed clear of the pack.
The course was lined with Milka chocolate ads, and course workers wore crampons. The slope was steeper in person than on television, but Shiffrin’s first run was both fast and careful. The slalom course had 79 gates, and it was not easy to get to the top of the course.
The winner was Mikaela Shiffrin, who beat her closest rival by a massive margin. She finished nearly 2 seconds ahead of Veronika Velez-Zuzulova and Frida Hansdotter, the newly crowned World Cup winner. Shiffrin’s win is a great accomplishment for the Olympic champion, who has had a difficult season with injuries.
The killer slalom World Cup was attended by over 20,000 people, and the opening day sold out. Although the giant slalom was canceled on Saturday due to 19 inches of snow, the raucous festival village was alive and buzzing with music provided by DJ Z-Trip, O.A.R. The sun finally broke through the clouds on Sunday to shine over the ski slopes, and the crowd cheered on the world’s best ski racers. In addition to the world’s most famous slalom race, the USA Alpine Ski Team’s Paula Moltzan also placed high.
Shiffrin’s speed and focus are impressive. She rarely misses a gate and finished every practice run in the top three positions. She also consistently beats her opponents during practice runs. She was an amazing student of the sport who could take criticism and incorporate it into her technique.
Odermatt becomes the first Swiss to win the overall title in 12 years
In the season-opening giant slalom event in Soelden, Austria, Olympic giant slalom champion Marco Odermatt won the first run. Odermatt built a four-tenths lead over second-place finisher Lucas Braathen of Norway with a near-flawless first run. The rest of the field finished, at least.69 seconds behind.
Odermatt dominated the first run, with a near-perfect time on the Rettenbach Glacier over the Austrian town of Solden. He held a 0.4-second lead over his Norwegian rival Lucas Braathen, who also won this event in 2020. The weather was getting warmer as the race progressed, and the first few competitors seemed to benefit from the warming course.
Alexis Pinturault, the world’s top-ranked skier two seasons ago, ended up 20th at Soelden. She had never finished lower than fifth in Soelden before. After this weekend’s GS, the men’s circuit heads to Lech, Austria, for the parallel slalom.
Kristoffersen switches ski equipment in the off-season.
After winning the World Cup giant slalom last season, Norwegian skier Henrik Kristoffersen has changed his ski equipment for the off-season. He’s now signed with Van Deer-Red Bull, founded by former World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher. Kristoffersen’s previous skis were from Rossignol.
Kristoffersen isn’t the only top athlete changing ski equipment. Austrian Marcel Hirscher switched from his long-distance skis to his classic skis for the off-season. His switch to a touring ski made him a faster skier. The first FIS World Cup slalom event of the 2018-19 season was held last month at Levi, Finland. Henrik Kristoffersen and Austrian Marcel Hirscher were the dominant racers.
Weather conditions affect the giant slalom race.
The first World Cup open-season race in Alpine skiing has been postponed after rain and snowfall prevented visibility on the course. The International Ski Federation (FIS) delayed the start of the giant slalom due to the current conditions and forecast for the rest of the day. Organizers initially decided to delay the race by an hour, but conditions didn’t improve. The race was postponed because of the weather conditions, but the men’s race on Sunday is still on schedule.
A rescheduling of the women’s giant slalom race will be announced within the next few days. The event’s rightsholders will also be informed. The event will take place in Rettenbach on Saturday, while the men’s competition will take place on Sunday. Both events are part of the World Cup season, which will conclude with the finals in Courchevel and Meribel.
The Olympic giant slalom champion, Marco Odermatt, dominated the first run of the men’s World Cup race in Soelden, Austria. His near-flawless first run set him up for a commanding lead over second-place Lucas Braathen of Norway. The rest of the field was at least four-tenths of a second behind Odermatt.
The 2019-20 women’s giant slalom calendar has nine races for each discipline. The men’s calendar features seven super-G races and eleven downhills. For women, there will be nine women’s races and nine men’s races. In the women’s World Cup open, Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova will compete in nine races.