Featured Image: Loïc Meillard at the GS World Cup Finals. Credit: Heather Black
Another day of the Stifel World Cup Finals kicked off with the men’s giant slalom. The Swiss legend, Marco Odermatt, has already clinched the giant slalom World Cup globe, achieving his 4th globe of the season. Nevertheless, the men were not holding back.
The course had a lot of swing and did not let up, so the racers could not back down from beginning to end. The athletes needed to maintain elevation and find early pressure from panel to panel.
Loïc Meillard of Switzerland executed that with grit and determination on the first run. He leads the field by -0.53. A comfortable pace heading into the second run.
Meillard had confidence heading into the World Cup Finals GS after he won the most recent GS in Hafjell, his first GS win of the season.
After his win in Hafjell, he stated, “I’m really proud that I managed to fight race by race, run by run, to be in this position and challenge for victories. Pushing yourself over and over again through a long season is tough, so I’m happy this very successful trip in Norway is over, and now I can enjoy a cool final week in Sun Valley.”
Coming into this week cool, calm, and collected allowed him to really push in this first run. He will need to carry that into the final GS run.
Braathen 2nd and Kristoffersen 3rd Heading Into Second Run
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen pushed hard out of the startgate, eager to find another podium result or, even better, accomplish the first victory for the nation of Brazil.
Braathen got a little late and low from the start but was able to find the rhythm again and continued to charge. He came through 0.53 behind Meillard.
Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway has had a successful GS season. A few highlights included a second in Sölden and Schladming and a victory in the GS at Kranjska Gora. He is currently second in the GS World Cup standings.
Kristoffersen’s confidence was shining from the top to the bottom with precision throughout the course. Although he laid down a crisp and aggressive run, he finished +0.65 behind Meillard, so he will have to continue to drive in the second run to overcome the Swiss athlete’s time.
Marco Odermatt
Marco Odermatt demonstrated his determination for victory right from the beginning. However, the Swiss star got a little inside through Cowboy Corner, which pushed him off balance. He fought to get back in the groove, but that turn did cost him time.
He crossed the finish line with a time that put him +0.98 seconds behind his teammate. To secure a medal in the second run, he will need to push himself to the limit.
The Only North American: River Radamus
River Radamus of the Stifel US Ski Team is the only North American in the giant slalom competition, capturing 3 top 10 GS finishes on the World Cup circuit this season. He was excited to show what he could accomplish in front of the local crowd.
Radamus ignited out of the start, but he was off to a tough start, getting pushed late and low. The US athlete recovered and continued to fight for the line and push his speed. Towards the end he backed off slightly but looked clean in the final section of the course.
He unfortunately came through +2.41 behind Meillard. However, he will head into the second run looking to fight for a leaderboard finish in front of the local crowd.
The second run will kick off at 12:00 MST. Do not miss the action! Outside TV+
Top 3 Athletes
First Run Results
North American
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
