Neureuther takes well-deserved win in Adelboden

By Published On: January 11th, 2014Comments Off on Neureuther takes well-deserved win in Adelboden
Felix Neureuther in Adelboden (GEPA/Mario Kneisl)

Felix Neureuther in Adelboden (GEPA/Mario Kneisl)

The first run of the men’s GS in Adelboden, Switzerland was dominated by the French, which was unusual enough. But by the end of the second run, it was a German winning which was beyond unusual…it was historic.

“This is, I think, the second World Cup victory ever for a German skier in a GS, so this is some historic moment. That I am a part of it, it’s just unbelievable.” said race winner Felix Neureuther. Yep. The only other German men’s GS winner in World Cup history was Max Rieger on March 3, 1973 at Mont St Anne, Quebec. Obviously, then, it was the first German men’s win in Adelboden’s classic GS. And, boy, did Neureuther earn it.

The race was held at a temperature of 55(f) with spectators donning shortsleeves and shorts. The organizers poured salt and chemicals on the snow to try to harden it up, but it was impossible to keep it from breaking down under the pressures of razor sharp skis on the feet of supremely gifted athletes. It was no accident the first skier on course in the first run, Frenchman Thomas Fanara, won the run.

The famous Chuenisbaergli course is steep enough to allow skiers to make up for a mistake, and until Neureuther ran, the second run had been incredibly tight with barely eight tenths separating the top 10 finishers. The fastest had been the fourth starter Luca De Aliprandini, and the leader was former University of Denver skier Leif Kristian Haugen of Norway.

Neureuther, though, was masterful on a day when few others could even approach normal.

“I just tried to ski smart at the right places, and I just pushed really hard. I just skied smooth and then it happened,” he said. “I never thought that I (could) win a GS because I was always better in slalom. Since last year, I thought about it. The other guys, they are so strong, like Ted, Alexis, Marcel and all the others. Today is a perfect day for me.”

Ted, Alexis and Marcel could not match him. Ligety slapped a ski against a gate and the binding released, ending his day barely into his second run. Alexis Pinturault was second after the first run and finished the day in fourth while Marcel Hirscher, though fast and precise, could not match the German’s effort.

“It’s how it goes,” said an obviously deflated Ted Ligety. “(It was) just crappy bad luck. … I bounced into the gate and the ski ripped off… it’s just part of ski racing, but it’s a kick in the groin, that’s for sure.”

Ligety said it was not a surprise that Neureuther pulled off the win. If there was any surprise, it was that the German GS record has been so bad historically.

Fanara held on for second and Hirscher got third keeping him in contention with Aksel Lund Svindall for the overall title and cementing his lead in the GS standings.

The U.S. group had some bright moments, but not at the top of the finish order. Bode Miller leaded in and slid out on his hip in the first run. Tim Jitloff finished 24th on his 29th birthday with a strong first run and Robby Kelley just made the cut for the second run to gain a handful of points and a 28th-place finish.

“I’m pretty happy I was able to make second run in those conditions,” said Kelley. Jitloff noted that the light got flatter in the second run and he had trouble finding the line.

See more pictures from today’s race in our gallery.

 

The Scoop

Men’s World Cup giant slalom, Adelboden, Switzerland, Jan. 11, 2014

Equipment – Skier, skis/boots/bindings

1 Neureuther, Nordica/Nordica/Marker

2 Fanara, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer

3 Hirscher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

4 Pinturault, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

5 Haugen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

6 Moelgg, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer

7 Simoncelli, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

8 Faivre, Head/Head/Head

9 Nani, Volkl/Fischer/Marker

10 Raich, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

Men’s World Cup giant slalom, Adelboden, Switzerland, Jan 11, 2014. … It is the 15th of 34 races on the Men’s World Cup schedule. … The fifth of eight scheduled GS’s. … It is the 55th World Cup race hosted by Adelboden… the 44th GS.

It is the seventh career World Cup win for Felix Neureuther, his first in GS…. It is just the second GS win for a German male, the previous captured by Max Reider at Mont Ste Anne, March 3, 1973. … The Germans had two men on the Adelboden GS podium a season ago, Neureuther in third and Fritz Dopfer in second. … It is the second win of the season for Neureuther who won the Zagreb slalom moved to Bormio and held Jan. 6.

It is the fifth career World Cup podium placing for Thomas Fanara, all of them in GS. … It is his second GS podium at Adelboden having score third Jan. 8, 2012. … It is his second podium of the season having also finished second at Val d’Isere Dec. 14.

It is the 52nd career World Cup podium placing for Marcel Hirscher in 91 completed races. … It is his seventh podium in eight completed races this season.

It is the second best Adelboden result of Tim Jitloff’s career. … It is the second career scoring result for Robby Kelley, both of them coming at Adelboden.

Aksel Lund Svindal (12th in race) maintains the lead of the World Cup overall standings 652-575 over Marcel Hirscher … Ted Ligety (DNF 2nd) is third overall with 333pts. … Erik Guay (did not race) is eighth overall with 261pts. … Bode Miller (DNF) is tenth at 230pts.

Hirscher leads the GS standings 380-305 over Alexis Pinturault (fourth in race). … Ligety is third with 260pts. … Trevor Philp (did not race) is the top Canadian in the GS standings in 45th with 5pts.

Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup 2421-1702 over France. … Italy is third with 1449. … The U.S. is fifth with 866pts and Canada ninth with 652pts.

 

Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time Diff. FIS Points
 1  5  201702 NEUREUTHER Felix 1984 GER  1:17.46  1:17.14  2:34.60  0.00
 2  1  191750 FANARA Thomas 1981 FRA  1:16.14  1:18.56  2:34.70  +0.10  0.58
 3  4  53831 HIRSCHER Marcel 1989 AUT  1:17.04  1:17.75  2:34.79  +0.19  1.09
 4  6  194364 PINTURAULT Alexis 1991 FRA  1:16.83  1:18.09  2:34.92  +0.32  1.84
 5  18  421669 HAUGEN Leif Kristian 1987 NOR  1:18.62  1:17.22  2:35.84  +1.24  7.14
 6  2  292491 MOELGG Manfred 1982 ITA  1:17.14  1:18.82  2:35.96  +1.36  7.83
 7  8  292120 SIMONCELLI Davide 1979 ITA  1:17.61  1:18.39  2:36.00  +1.40  8.06
 8  12  194495 FAIVRE Mathieu 1992 FRA  1:17.40  1:18.62  2:36.02  +1.42  8.17
 9  21  294890 NANI Roberto 1988 ITA  1:18.84  1:17.48  2:36.32  +1.72  9.90
 10  9  50625 RAICH Benjamin 1978 AUT  1:18.69  1:17.69  2:36.38  +1.78  10.25
 11  30  990116 DE ALIPRANDINI Luca 1990 ITA  1:20.06  1:16.38  2:36.44  +1.84  10.59
 12  7  421328 SVINDAL Aksel Lund 1982 NOR  1:17.96  1:18.53  2:36.49  +1.89  10.88
 13  31  422304 KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik 1994 NOR  1:19.22  1:17.31  2:36.53  +1.93  11.11
 14  23  501324 OLSSON Matts 1988 SWE  1:19.47  1:17.07  2:36.54  +1.94  11.17
 15  20  191423 RICHARD Cyprien 1979 FRA  1:18.77  1:17.81  2:36.58  +1.98  11.40
 16  15  180534 SANDELL Marcus 1987 FIN  1:18.63  1:18.00  2:36.63  +2.03  11.69
 16  13  192506 MISSILLIER Steve 1984 FRA  1:19.86  1:16.77  2:36.63  +2.03  11.69
 18  19  292000 BLARDONE Massimiliano 1979 ITA  1:18.69  1:18.00  2:36.69  +2.09  12.03
 19  10  202462 DOPFER Fritz 1987 GER  1:18.31  1:18.42  2:36.73  +2.13  12.26
 20  27  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:20.00  1:16.84  2:36.84  +2.24  12.90
 20  14  51007 SCHOERGHOFER Philipp 1983 AUT  1:18.58  1:18.26  2:36.84  +2.24  12.90
 22  29  501017 MYHRER Andre 1983 SWE  1:19.25  1:17.62  2:36.87  +2.27  13.07
 23  11  202437 LUITZ Stefan 1992 GER  1:18.48  1:18.40  2:36.88  +2.28  13.13
 24  25  534959 JITLOFF Tim 1985 USA  1:18.60  1:18.40  2:37.00  +2.40  13.82
 25  28  193967 MUFFAT-JEANDET Victor 1989 FRA  1:19.75  1:17.60  2:37.35  +2.75  15.83
 26  16  380260 KOSTELIC Ivica 1979 CRO  1:18.81  1:18.57  2:37.38  +2.78  16.00
 27  37  150398 BANK Ondrej 1980 CZE  1:20.13  1:17.53  2:37.66  +3.06  17.62
 28  42  930160 KELLEY Robby 1990 USA  1:20.35  1:19.00  2:39.35  +4.75  27.34
 29  48  193334 RIVAS Gabriel 1986 FRA  1:20.35  1:21.40  2:41.75  +7.15  41.16
Did not start 1st run
 61  400237 MEINERS Maarten 1992 NED
 57  104026 SWETTE Ford 1993 CAN
Did not qualify for 2nd run
 72  151024 KOTZMANN Adam 1993 CZE
 70  380335 ZUBCIC Filip 1993 CRO
 69  303097 ISHII Tomoya 1989 JPN
 68  561254 ZERAK Misel 1992 SLO
 66  511857 JENAL Sandro 1992 SUI
 64  700879 ZAMPA Andreas 1993 SVK
 63  194686 FABRE Jonas 1993 FRA
 59  150644 KRYZL Krystof 1986 CZE
 56  990048 BORSOTTI Giovanni 1990 ITA
 55  511863 SETTE Daniele 1992 SUI
 54  54093 STROLZ Johannes 1992 AUT
 53  561244 KRANJEC Zan 1992 SLO
 52  511896 MURISIER Justin 1992 SUI
 51  481327 TRIKHICHEV Pavel 1992 RUS
 50  54144 MEIER Daniel 1993 AUT
 49  700830 ZAMPA Adam 1990 SVK
 46  6530115 CHRISTIANSON Kieffer 1992 USA
 44  481148 MAYTAKOV Sergei 1990 RUS
 41  511852 CAVIEZEL Gino 1992 SUI
 40  192653 FREY Thomas 1984 FRA
 39  511741 ZURBRIGGEN Elia 1990 SUI
 38  103676 BROWN Philip 1991 CAN
 34  100558 COOK Dustin 1989 CAN
 32  934568 RUBIE Brennan 1991 USA
 26  292967 EISATH Florian 1984 ITA
 24  53985 MATHIS Marcel 1991 AUT
Did not finish 2nd run
 3  534562 LIGETY Ted 1984 USA
Did not finish 1st run
 71  30149 SIMARI BIRKNER Cristian Javier 1980 ARG
 67  54027 BRENNSTEINER Stefan 1991 AUT
 65  6290062 BARUFFALDI Stefano 1992 ITA
 62  6290440 ZINGERLE Alex 1992 ITA
 60  510997 BERTHOD Marc 1983 SUI
 58  103997 MEGARRY Morgan 1993 CAN
 47  192504 MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas 1984 FRA
 45  180666 TORSTI Samu 1991 FIN
 43  103078 DONALDSON David 1986 CAN
 36  481006 ZUEV Stepan 1988 RUS
 35  511638 TUMLER Thomas 1989 SUI
 33  180627 MALMSTROM Victor 1991 FIN
 22  532431 MILLER Bode 1977 USA
 17  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR

Share This Article

About the Author: Hank McKee

In memoriam: The veteran of the staff, McKee started with Ski Racing in 1980. Over the seasons, he covered virtually every aspect of the sport, from the pro tours to junior racing, freestyle and World Cup alpine competition. He wrote the first national stories for many U.S. team stars, and was still around to report on their retirements. “Longevity has its rewards,” he said, “but it’s a slow process.”