Hirscher dominant in Adelboden, takes 138-point lead in GS standings

By Published On: January 10th, 2015Comments Off on Hirscher dominant in Adelboden, takes 138-point lead in GS standings

ADELBODEN, Switzerland — In the finish area of the classic men’s giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, fourth-place finisher Fritz Dopfer said Marcel Hirscher is currently unbeatable, barring a major mistake.

A major mistake he did not make Saturday — the Austrian cruised to his fifth career victory in Adelboden, sixth of the season, under extremely warm, challenging conditions.

“It is always good to win a race, and especially here in Adelboden, it is one of the toughest races,” said Hirscher. “I don’t know what the secret was today. … It was a really tough race, especially with the warm temperatures — with it comes a lot of soft snow, bumps and ruts.”

Hirscher called the famous final pitch that approaches 30,000 roaring fans in the Adelboden finish stadium the toughest five gates in World Cup GS. The racers get a good indication of their split times, Hirscher said, as they knife their way down the home stretch. By that point in the race, it was clear Hirscher, with a roughly one-second lead, had secured his third-straight giant slalom victory. He was fastest after the first run, skiing 30th in the second run and able to fend off a very strong attack by Alexis Pinturault, who ultimately placed second ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen in third.

Hirscher’s margin of victory was 1.13 seconds over his nearest competition, Pinturault.

Another giant slalom great who hasn’t quite mastered the Adelboden hill is American Ted Ligety. His sole win at the venue came in 2013, when Hirscher made a sizable mistake and eliminated himself from contention. Ligety was visibly displeased to finish the day in seventh, slipping to a 138-point deficit behind Hirscher in the GS standings. With just three World Cup giant slaloms remaining in the season and the momentum going the other way, Ligety may now require the assistance of a Hirscher DNF if the American is to retain his crystal globe in the discipline.

“Today was not our best day,” said men’s head coach Sasha Rearick. “Today’s skiing took a lot of trust. The courses were easy. You had to trust yourself to hammer down, and we didn’t trust ourselves today. That’s what we’re going to focus on as we move into the next GS races.

“We’re going to come back and evaluate (Ligety’s performance),” added Rearick. “He’s back at the condo getting recovered, some food in him, and we’re going to sit down as a team and figure out what we have to do to get him to his best form.”

With temperatures reaching 15 degrees Celsius, course workers did a fantastic job, by all accounts, of salting the track and firming things up. Nevertheless, the later runners were faced with a different set of circumstances than the early racers.

“The course held up in the sense that there weren’t any huge holes or anything like that,” said Rearick. “What happens is the groove gets pushed away from the gate, every single guy that goes down, more and more over. So the guys who run later have to run a longer line, which is going to cost more time. Only one or two guys qualified outside the top 30. That was also because not many guys went out. An easy course with those types of conditions, the later guys didn’t stand a chance to get in there.”

Perhaps slightly lost in the shadow of Hirscher is the amazing performance of 20-year-old Henrik Kristoffersen, who achieved his second career GS podium. He said the soft snow reminded him of the conditions in Norway — he hasn’t been skiing as well on icy terrain.

“It has been pretty tough so far this season in GS,” Kristoffersen said. “I had some DNFs, skied some bad races and overall I have been struggling even when I knew I had the speed. So my confidence definitely got a boost today. I am still far behind Marcel but in time I will get there.”

Kristoffersen has said he hopes to become the best skier in the world, a title claimed the past three seasons by Hirscher.

“He is so good at the moment,” Kristoffersen added. “I want to beat him at some point but at the moment he is someone to look up to. It’s fun to ski against him and I have a lot to learn from him so it’s nice to have something to reach for. It took Marcel a bit of time to become the best in the world, he had a lot of DNFs before winning three overalls in a row so all I have to do is keep on training and keep on working on becoming the best skier I can be.”

Tim Jitloff was the only other American representative to qualify for second run. His 14th-place result was encouraging, said the 29-year-old, but he still has higher aspirations.

“I was trying to cut it off in spots and see where I could push it because it was kind of slow-going,” said Jitloff. “The bottom, based on the first run, was a very simply set. First run, I felt like I held back way too much. This run I wanted to cut the line a little, and it ended up being too direct. I felt it slow down.

“The consistency is certainly there,” added Jitloff. “I’m primarily in the top-15 or top-10 when I finish. I’m happy with the consistency but I know the speed is there to be up on the podium if I put together two good runs.”

Canadian Dustin Cook was the only other North American to finish in the points, in 22nd.

The men next contest a slalom race in Adelboden on Sunday.

The Scoop

By Hank McKee

  1. Hirscher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  2. Pinturault, Head/Head/Head
  3. Kristoffersen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
  4. Dopfer, Nordica/Nordica/
  5. Neureuther, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
  6. Eisath, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  7. Ligety, Head/Head/Head
  8. Haugen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
  9. Faivre, Head/Head/Head
  10. Nani, Voelkl/Fischer/Marker

Men’s World Cup giant slalom, Adelboden, Switzerland, Jan. 10, 2015:

  • It is the 16th of 35 races originally on the men’s 2015 World Cup calendar with one cancellation. … The fifth of eight scheduled GS’s … and the last GS until March. … It is the 59th International Adelbodner Skitage, starting in 1955. … An inaugural World Cup race. It is the 55th World Cup race hosted at Adelboden … the 44th GS. … Felix Neureuther is the defending champion. … The race is run on the celebrated Chuenisbaergli track. …
  • Two-time winners: Marc Girardelli, Jean-Claude Killy.
  • Three-time winners: Hermann Maier, Benjamin Raich, Gustavo Thoeni, Pirmin Zubriggen.
  • Five-time winner: Ingemar Stenmark
  • William Kidd won the GS at Adelboden in 1966, the year previous to the World Cup.
  • It is the 29th career World Cup win for Marcel Hirscher … his 13th in GS. … It is his fifth win at Adelboden, and second in GS. … It is his sixth victory of the season and second of the season in GS. … The winning margin is 1.13. … Top eight skiers are within two seconds.
  • It is the 26th career World Cup podium for Alexis Pinturault … his 13th in GS. … It is his fourth podium of the season. … His first ever at Adelboden where his previous best had been fourth (in GS Jan. 11, 2014).
  • It is the eighth career World Cup podium for Henrik Kristoffersen, his second in GS. … It is his second podium of the season after winning the Levi slalom Nov. 16.
  • It is the 51st top seven in a World Cup GS for Ted Ligety. … his fourth at Adelboden. … Former Denver standout Leif Kristian Haugen matched his seasonal best result. … It is a career best Adelboden result for Tim Jitloff … his third best finish of the season. … Dustin Cook matches his fifth best career World Cup finish. … It is also his fifth best finish of the season.
  • Hirscher extends his lead of the World Cup overall standings to 776-624 over Kjetil Jansrud (DNF 2nd run). … Felix Neureuther is third at 442pts. … Ligety is seventh overall with 36pts.
  • Hirscher also leads the GS standings 460-322 over Ligety. … Pinturault is third at 310pts. … Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup 2362-1518 over France. … Italy is third at 1451. … The U.S. is seventh at 1007 and Canada ninth at 393pts.

 

Results

 1  4  53831 HIRSCHER Marcel 1989 AUT  1:17.18  1:21.93  2:39.11  0.00
 2  3  194364 PINTURAULT Alexis 1991 FRA  1:18.14  1:22.10  2:40.24  +1.13  6.96
 3  11  422304 KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik 1994 NOR  1:18.15  1:22.60  2:40.75  +1.64  10.10
 4  6  202462 DOPFER Fritz 1987 GER  1:19.22  1:21.63  2:40.85  +1.74  10.72
 5  1  201702 NEUREUTHER Felix 1984 GER  1:17.73  1:23.13  2:40.86  +1.75  10.78
 6  25  292967 EISATH Florian 1984 ITA  1:19.90  1:20.99  2:40.89  +1.78  10.96
 7  2  534562 LIGETY Ted 1984 USA  1:18.43  1:22.54  2:40.97  +1.86  11.46
 8  13  421669 HAUGEN Leif Kristian 1987 NOR  1:19.56  1:21.53  2:41.09  +1.98  12.20
 9  18  194495 FAIVRE Mathieu 1992 FRA  1:19.09  1:22.13  2:41.22  +2.11  13.00
 10  15  294890 NANI Roberto 1988 ITA  1:18.69  1:22.56  2:41.25  +2.14  13.18
 11  17  501324 OLSSON Matts 1988 SWE  1:18.84  1:22.46  2:41.30  +2.19  13.49
 12  30  292000 BLARDONE Massimiliano 1979 ITA  1:19.56  1:21.82  2:41.38  +2.27  13.98
 12  14  193967 MUFFAT-JEANDET Victor 1989 FRA  1:18.99  1:22.39  2:41.38  +2.27  13.98
 14  10  534959 JITLOFF Tim 1985 USA  1:19.38  1:22.20  2:41.58  +2.47  15.21
 15  27  990048 BORSOTTI Giovanni 1990 ITA  1:20.78  1:20.82  2:41.60  +2.49  15.34
 16  7  191750 FANARA Thomas 1981 FRA  1:19.42  1:22.21  2:41.63  +2.52  15.52
 17  23  292491 MOELGG Manfred 1982 ITA  1:20.33  1:21.45  2:41.78  +2.67  16.45
 18  26  191423 RICHARD Cyprien 1979 FRA  1:20.04  1:21.79  2:41.83  +2.72  16.75
 19  21  51159 NOESIG Christoph 1985 AUT  1:19.93  1:21.99  2:41.92  +2.81  17.31
 20  5  50625 RAICH Benjamin 1978 AUT  1:19.66  1:22.27  2:41.93  +2.82  17.37
 21  8  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:19.88  1:22.07  2:41.95  +2.84  17.49
 22  34  100558 COOK Dustin 1989 CAN  1:20.88  1:21.09  2:41.97  +2.86  17.62
 23  22  511852 CAVIEZEL Gino 1992 SUI  1:20.00  1:21.98  2:41.98  +2.87  17.68
 23  19  292120 SIMONCELLI Davide 1979 ITA  1:19.15  1:22.83  2:41.98  +2.87  17.68
 25  20  51007 SCHOERGHOFER Philipp 1983 AUT  1:19.06  1:23.07  2:42.13  +3.02  18.60
 26  9  192506 MISSILLIER Steve 1984 FRA  1:19.93  1:22.26  2:42.19  +3.08  18.97
 27  28  150398 BANK Ondrej 1980 CZE  1:20.40  1:21.83  2:42.23  +3.12  19.22
 28  29  380335 ZUBCIC Filip 1993 CRO  1:20.69  1:22.06  2:42.75  +3.64  22.42
Did not qualify for 2nd run
 75  151024 KOTZMANN Adam 1993 CZE
 68  291318 TONETTI Riccardo 1989 ITA
 66  103729 READ Erik 1991 CAN
 64  194146 LAMBERT Nicolas 1990 FRA
 63  194686 FABRE Jonas 1993 FRA
 62  990081 CASSE Mattia 1990 ITA
 61  512182 MEILLARD Loic 1996 SUI
 60  511988 GENOUD Amaury 1993 SUI
 59  511741 ZURBRIGGEN Elia 1990 SUI
 58  481327 TRIKHICHEV Pavel 1992 RUS
 56  534508 CHODOUNSKY David 1984 USA
 54  511857 JENAL Sandro 1992 SUI
 52  53980 KRIECHMAYR Vincent 1991 AUT
 51  54031 LEITINGER Roland 1991 AUT
 49  202265 STAUBITZER Benedikt 1990 GER
 48  934523 ENGEL Mark 1991 USA
 46  53985 MATHIS Marcel 1991 AUT
 45  202597 SCHMID Alexander 1994 GER
 43  700830 ZAMPA Adam 1990 SVK
 42  511638 TUMLER Thomas 1989 SUI
 41  511896 MURISIER Justin 1992 SUI
 40  150644 KRYZL Krystof 1986 CZE
 39  501458 LINDH Calle 1990 SWE
 38  511718 PLEISCH Manuel 1990 SUI
 37  103676 BROWN Phil 1991 CAN
 36  180666 TORSTI Samu 1991 FIN
 33  934568 RUBIE Brennan 1991 USA
 31  53902 MAYER Matthias 1990 AUT
 24  501017 MYHRER Andre 1983 SWE
Did not finish 2nd run
 16  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR
 12  180534 SANDELL Marcus 1987 FIN
Did not finish 1st run
 74  380290 SAMSAL Dalibor 1985 HUN
 73  180627 MALMSTROM Victor 1991 FIN
 72  180705 PIRINEN Eemeli 1993 FIN
 71  501898 ROENNGREN Mattias 1993 SWE
 70  561254 ZERAK Misel 1992 SLO
 69  54080 NEUMAYER Christopher 1992 AUT
 67  400237 MEINERS Maarten 1992 NED
 65  202451 STRASSER Linus 1992 GER
 57  422390 MONSEN Marcus 1995 NOR
 55  6530115 CHRISTIANSON Kieffer 1992 USA
 53  202345 SCHWAIGER Dominik 1991 GER
 50  104026 SWETTE Ford 1993 CAN
 47  103865 PHILP Trevor 1992 CAN
 44  293550 MARSAGLIA Matteo 1985 ITA
 35  422278 WINDINGSTAD Rasmus 1993 NOR
 32  561244 KRANJEC Zan 1992 SLO

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.