KITZBUEHEL, Austria – It was all red, white, and blue at the conclusion of the alpine combined slalom run Friday evening in Kitzbuehel. The French Tricolor occupied all three steps on the podium as Alexis Pinturault won his third straight combined here with a total time of 2:03.70 seconds. His compatriots Victor Muffat-Jeandet and Thomas Mermillod-Blondin finished in second and third, 0.89 and 0.92 seconds back, respectively.

Pinturault sat 1.22 seconds adrift of super G winner Aksel Lund Svindal heading into the evening’s slalom run, but took full advantage of the tough hill combined with his slalom prowess to walk away with his third Hahnenkamm combined title in as many years. Svindal failed to finish his slalom run and disco sticks favorite Marcel Hirscher was disqualified after straddling a gate in the lower half of the course.

“It feels great, it’s just something very special. A victory is something special, but even more here in Kitzbuehel,” Pintuarult said. “It’s the first time for me to share the podium with two teammates. It’s just unbelievable, it’s never happened or maybe happened a long time ago for the French ski team. We are really proud of it.”

In fact, it was the French men team’s first podium sweep in nearly 46 years, as Patrick Russel, Alain Penz, and Henri Brechu went 1-2-3 in the 1970 Megeve slalom.

It was a day of firsts for Muffat-Jeandet, as he not only found his first Kitzbuehel podium, but also his first World Cup super G points as well.

“My slalom run was OK, but not so perfect. The conditions were really, really tough,” Muffat-Jeandet said. “I saw Thomas was just behind me and after Alexis came, it’s crazy. I was fifth last year, and today I did a good super G, my first points in top 30. It’s so unbelievable and so nice to share this with two teammates. It’s a really, really incredible moment.”

Mermillod Blondin, who is something of an alpine combined specialist as all but one of his five World Cup podiums have come in the event, was delighted to not only share the podium with his countrymen but with two very good friends as well.

“It feels very special because three friends are on the podium here Kitzbuehel, the famous place of skiing, it’s fantastic,” an exhilirated Mermillod Blondin said. “After the super G, I see Victor in the top 30, Alexis in a very good position, and me in the middle, it was possible. But after that, we do it! And yeah, it’s very, very, very, special.”

For American Bryce Bennett, two solid runs of super G and slalom translated into another World Cup top 10 to go with his surprise sixth-place finish in last month’s Val Gardena downhill. This stop is also special for Bennet as his father, Stan, was able to attend after a dedicated group of friends in the Lake Tahoe ski community came together to raise funds so he could travel to Kitzbuehel and watch his son take on the Streif.

Drew Duffy in the super G. GEPA

“It finally feels good to get second runs and get in the top 30 and score some points and have some good results and feel good about yourself,” said the jolly giant after his slalom run.

It was also young American Drew Duffy’s first trip inside the World Cup points, as his two runs landed him in 27th place. He also had his parents cheering in the crowd.

“It’s just awesome to be here, really. This is the biggest race [of the year]. I don’t know if I was more scared for the super G or the slalom, but I’m definitely excited about the skiing,” Duffy added with a laugh.

The legendary Kitzbuehel downhill is scheduled to kick off at 11:45 a.m. CET on Saturday, although weather is expected to arrive in the morning which may possibly alter the program. The slalom is currently still scheduled for Sunday.

Stay current on the World Cup circuit by downloading the U.S. Ski Team iOS app powered by Ski Racing here.

The Scoop
By Hank McKee

1. Pinturault, Head/Head/Head
2. Muffat-Jeandet, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
3. Mermillod Blondin, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4. Janka, Rosssignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5. Zampa, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
6. Baumann, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
7. Paris, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
8. Kriechmayr, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
9. Bennett, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
10. Tonetti, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker

• Men’s World Cup combined, Kitzbuehel, Austria, Jan. 22, 2016. … It is the second of four events of the 76^th Hahnenkamm … the 20^th race of the men’s 45 race schedule, and the second of three scheduled combined races. … It is the event the Hahnenkamm Trophy is awarded for. … It is the 39^th World Cup combined held at least in part at Kitzbuehel. … Alexis Pinturault has won the last two Kitzbuehel combined races prior to this race.
• It is the 10th career World Cup victory for Alexis Pinturault. … His fourth in combined and his third straight in combined at Kitzbuehel. … It is his first win of the season, his next best a fourth in slalom at Adelboden Jan. 10. … Winning margin is 0.89 seconds. … Top three are within the same second. … Top six within two seconds.
• Victor Muffat-Jeandet matches his career-best World Cup result with his fifth career podium and third career second-place finish. … He was also second in the Beaver Creek GS earlier this season, and third at two other GSs in December.
• Thomas Mermillod Blondin scores his fifth career World Cup podium and fourth in combined. … It is his first podium of the season. … It is the first French men’s podium sweep in nearly 46 years, since the Megeve slalom on Jan. 25, 1970.
• It is the second career World Cup top-10 result for Bryce Bennett in four completed races. … It is the third best of eight career World Cup scores for Trevor Philp. … Drew Duffy scores his first World Cup points.
• Aksel Lund Svindal (DNF 2^nd) maintains his lead of the World Cup overall standings 916-809 over Macel Hirscher (DSQ 2^nd). … Henrik Kristoffersen (did not race) is third with 671pts. 
• Kjetil Jansrud and Alexis Pinturault are tied for the lead of the combined standings with 120pts each. … Mermillod Blondin is third with 110pts.
• Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup standings 3006-2619 over Norway. … France is third with 2520pts. … The U.S. is fifth at 1254 and Canada ninth at 333pts.

Official Results