Kristoffersen charges for the win in Kranjska Gora

Henrik Kristoffersen made it look easy in his second run Sunday. Flying through the rutty, spring-like conditions on a challenging Podkoren course in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, the 20-year-old claimed his second World Cup win of the season.

“(Kranjska Gora) is a nice hill. I think it looks kind of easy on TV because the speed is so high, but it’s not that easy,” Kristoffersen said. “Second run was a little rough but I tried to push it the whole way. I was on the limit 10 gates from the finish, but that’s slalom at the moment. You’ve got to push it.”

The result follows a pair of world junior titles in the tech disciplines for the Norwegian. Kristoffersen was able to harness some of that confidence to join Felix Neureuther and Marcel Hirscher as the three men with two slalom victories this season. In this, the last stop on the tour ahead of World Cup Finals, Kristoffersen finished with a combined time of 1 minute, 41.26 seconds, beating out Italian Giuliano Razzoli and first-run leader Mattias Hargin of Sweden.

Said Kristoffersen moments after his run, “That was really good. Whoa! I just felt like I really hit the line. It was a little bit bumpy but the setup was working perfectly today. The skis were awesome and, yeah, a really good race. … I don’t think (the win) comes as a surprise. I felt like I could compete with the top guys. I feel like my slalom skiing has been good lately, so it’s nice to finally get it out.”

Noticeably absent from the podium conversation were the two contenders for the season’s slalom title, Felix Neureuther and Marcel Hirscher. The German skied conservatively through the tough, rutty conditions, while the Austrian fought back from a near-DNF in the first run.

Hirscher reportedly caught his ski on his boot strap and got thrown way off balance, nearly crashing and slowing to a near-halt. He finished 19th in that first-run effort but was able to climb back all the way to sixth place on the day with the fastest second-run performance.

Neureuther finished ninth and was able to hold onto a 55-point lead in the slalom standings heading into the final race of the season March 22 in Meribel, France.

For Hargin, it was another electrifying performance in the morning; however, he lost all of a three-tenths advantage almost immediately in his second run. The Swede was in danger of missing the podium but was able to charge through the steep final pitch. It was just the 22nd fastest second run but enough to hang onto the podium.

“Today, first run was really good, second run not that good. But I’m really happy with the third place,” Hargin said. “With the soft course, you have to be really precise with the ruts. It was tricky to really ski fast.

“I’m really happy with the season,” he added. “The skiing is going really easy. I can push really hard. … I took a step forward this year with the win. Before, I was six, seven, eight. Now I’m (finishing) more around the podium. It’s a big step forward and I’ll try to take an even bigger step next season.”

Razzoli, coming off the second fastest first run, was also able to charge the final pitch to secure his first World Cup podium since Alta Badia in 2011.

“It has been a while for me since I climbed on the podium. I deserved it,” Razzoli said through the aid of a translator. “I started behind this year and slowly made my way back. This result came on one of the most beautiful slopes, one I have always loved. Today I gave it my best shot, but the young one was too strong. I didn’t want to risk too much but I still think I did a great race. It was really close today and this second place is like a victory for me.”

It was not the best of days for the U.S. Team. David Chodounsky was the lone American to qualify for second run. He managed to improve in his second outing, but was only able to muster 28th on the day. On a positive note, however, Chodounsky managed to hang on to a top-25 position in the slalom standings, 24th, thus earning a start at World Cup Finals — he’ll be the sole American representative in that event.”

“For Dave to hang on and get to World Cup Finals is a big accomplishment. At the same time, we know he’s got more speed than that,” said Men’s Head Coach Sasha Rearick. “We have to figure out how we can get him to ski with confidence, to trust his skis and go. That’s not what he showed today. He didn’t trust himself to keep his skis in the fall line.”

Getting thrown back on his tails a few times and nearly skiing out, Ted Ligety finished first run 35th and did not qualify for the afternoon. AJ Ginnis, fresh off a world junior bronze medal, skied to 53rd in the first run. Will Brandenburg was a first-run DNF.

“Today was a disappointing day in terms of results and the skiing that was done by all the guys,” said Rearick. “In general, we were flat today. We were kind of flat all weekend. It’s been a long season with World Championships to grind through. We came in flat. We came in tired, and that’s something we have to look at as a staff and figure out what we have to do to bring the energy up through the last race of the season.”

See more photos from this race here.

The Scoop

By Hank McKee

1. Kristoffersen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
2. Razzoli, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
3. Hargin, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4. Larsson, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5. Khoroshilov, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
6. Hirscher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7. Pinturault, Head/Head/Head
8. Foss-Solevaag, Volkl/Marker
9. Neureuther, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
10. Dopfer, Nordica/Nordica/

Men’s World Cup slalom, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, March 15, 2015:

• It is the 33^rd of 38 races on the men’s calendar, the last race prior to World Cup Finals. … It is the 10th of 11 scheduled slaloms, with one cancellation (Munich city event). … It is the 83^rd World Cup race held at Kranjska Gora, a site that has hosted major international races since 1961 and World Cup events since 1968. … It is the 43^rd  World Cup slalom at the site. …  It is the 54^th Pokal-Vitranc. … Felix Neureuther is the defending champion. … No American has ever won the Kranjska Gora slalom.
• It is the third career World Cup win for Henrik Kristoffersen, all in slalom. It is his second World Cup win of the season after winning at Levi in November. … He also added two gold medals at the recently completed World Junior Championships to establish the record at six. … The winning margin is .24  of a second. … Top three finishers are within the same second.
• It is the eighth World Cup podium placing for Giuliano Razzoli … his first since 2011. … It is his second podium at Kranjska Gora, the first also a second place from March 1, 2009.
• It is the fifth career World Cup podium for Mattias Hargin. … It is his second podium of the season, the first being the slalom win at Kitzbuehel on Jan. 25.
• It is the 21^st World Cup scoring result for David Chodounsky … his eighth of the season.
• With four races remaining, Marcel Hirscher (sixth in race) maintains the lead of the World Cup overall standings 1248-1084 over Kjetil Jansrud (did not race). … Alexis Pinturault (seventh in race) is third overall with 898pts. … Ted Ligety leads U.S. skiers in 11^th with 520pts.
• Felix Neureuther (ninth in race) holds the lead of the slalom standings 569-514 over Hirscher. … Kristoffersen is third with 437pts and cannot win the slalom crown. … Chodousnky is the top U.S. skier on the slalom list in 24^th with 71pts.
• Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup standings 5130-3351 over France. … Italy is third with 3095pts. … The U.S. is seventh at 1772 and Canada ninth at 655pts.

Results