Neureuther wins dream race in Wengen, again

WENGEN, Switzerland – As a child growing up in Germany, Felix Neureuther dreamed of winning two specific slalom races: Kitzbuehel and Wengen. After Saturday, he’s had the privilege of winning the latter on two occasions.

Neureuther charged back from a 0.55-second deficit after the first run on a day that was anything but predictable. Eight inches of fresh snow blanketed Wengen overnight, and it never let up. The Swiss literally brought in the army to help prepare the course. Yes, camouflaged soldiers with modest skiing abilities armed with rakes and shovels lined the hillside in Wengen in an effort to provide the best possible conditions for the racers. But not even an army could make the track perfect on Saturday as the course quickly became chopped up for the later racers in both runs.

Neureuther, who was coming off a disappointing DNF in Adelboden last week, admitted he held back slightly on the first run to ensure a finish and gain some confidence heading into the afternoon.

“It wasn’t easy. The weather was tough. The conditions were tough,” said Neureuther. “I went out in Adelboden so I tired to gain some confidence back. And then in second run, I really pushed very hard. I also got a little bit lucky that everything went well.”

The victory is all the more remarkable considering the way Neureuther’s season got started, sitting out the World Cup opener in Soelden due to back problems that irritated him again this morning as he suffered from a related migraine. His physiotherapist worked on him between runs to help ease the discomfort, and the result was a fifth slalom podium and second win — the other came in Madonna di Campiglio.

From the 25th starting position in the second run, Neureuther said there’s nothing like winning at the Lauberhornrennen.

“Here in Wengen, it is always such a special place. The hill is something really special and of course the city and the people,” said Neureuther. “To win here for a second time is something very, very special.”

The German tech specialist was joined in celebration by Italian Stefano Gross, 0.20 seconds back, who’s caught fire mid-season with a second straight podium, and 20-year-old Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, 0.44 seconds back, who after a string of DNFs seems to have found his rhythm once again.

“I actually thought it was going to be a little bit more bumpy than it was. But in a few spots, it was really bumpy,” said Kristoffersen. “I think I’ve proved to myself that when I ski good and ski normally, I can be in the top.”

Said Gross of his mid-season success, “I worked really hard over the summer and during this middle part of the winter to reach this result, so now I am very, very happy. Today was pretty tough with the weather conditions. … Wengen is a classic race and also Adelboden, I hope to also ski fast in Kitz because it’s a special race.”

Noticeably absent from second run was Marcel Hirscher, who straddled a gate in his opening effort and after a few turns, excused himself from the race. Hirscher has taken some flack in the past for continuing to ski after a straddle. The biggest beneficiary of the Austrian’s first DNF in a tech race this season is Kjetil Jansrud, who trails in the overall by a couple hundred points.

David Chodounsky led the American team, which qualified just he and Ligety for a second run. Chodounsky put down a fast first run, skiing from 27th to 13th under deteriorating conditions. He wasn’t quite as pleased with his second-run effort, which ultimately landed him in 18th on the day.

“The snow was actually really good,” said Chodounsky, who refuses to complain about a course, at least when Ski Racing talks with him. “I’m just upset with myself because I didn’t let it go quite as much as I could have. That one is on me. I know I can ski faster. I got a pretty decent result, top-20, so just need to try and bring the fast skiing to Kitzbuehel.”

Ligety was again less than pleased with his performance, skiing to 27th. Michael Matt of Austria, younger brother of Mario Matt, made the biggest jump of the day, racing from 63rd to 16th with the fastest second run on a day when very few were able to crack through the top-30 barrier.

The Scoop

By Hank McKee

1. Neureuther, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
2. Gross, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
3. Kristoffersen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4. Pinturault, Head/Head/Head
5. Khoroshilov, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
6. Hargin, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7. Dopfer, Nordica/Nordica/
8. Grange, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
9. Larsson, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10. Aerni, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

Men’s World Cup slalom, Wengen, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2015:

• It is the second event of the 85^th annual Lauberhorn. … Originally scheduled for Jan. 18, the race and the downhill were flip-flopped on the schedule to avoid inclement weather. … It is the 19^th of 35 races on the  men’s World Cup calendar … the seventh of 10 slated slaloms and the sixth to be held after the cancellation of the Munich city event. … It is the 103^rd World Cup race hosted – at least in part – at Wengen … the 36^th slalom. … Alexis Pinturault is the defending champion.
• It is the 11^th career World Cup win for Felix Neureuther … his ninth in slalom. … He is now tied with Irene Epple for fifth among Germans for most World Cup wins, and matches Maria Hoefl-Riesch for most slalom wins all-time for a German. … It is his second win and fifth podium this season. … The winning margin is .20 of a second … top six skiers are within the same second. … Top nine within two seconds.
• It is the fifth career World Cup podium for Stefano Gross … all in slalom. … It is his second podium this January, the previous was the win at Adelboden.
• It is the ninth career World Cup podium for Henrik Kristoffersen and his seventh in slalom. … It is his third podium of the season.
• David Chodounsky tops his best showing at Wengen by one placing. … It is the 11th best of his 18 scoring results. … It is the 66^th career slalom score for Ted Ligety.
• It is the best result of the season for former University of Vermont standout Jonathan Nordbotten and second best career result for the Norwegian, missing his two 20th-place finishes from last year in Kitzbuehel and Schladming by just one position.
• Marcel Hirscher (1^st run DNF) continues to lead the World Cup overall standings 836-624 over Kjetil Jansrud (did not race). … Neureuther is third at 542pts, tied with countryman Fritz Dopfer (seventh in race). … Ted Ligety is sixth overall with 416pts. … Manuel Osborne-Paraadis is the top Canadian in 23^rd with 153pts.
• Neureuther takes the lead of the slalom standings 420-376 over Hirscher. … Dopfer is third with 304pts. … Dave Chodounsky is the top American on the slalom list in 22^nd with 51pts. … Julien Cousineau leads Canada in 40^th with 15pts.

Results