Classic stage in Adelboden: women’s speed races. Get ready for an exciting weekend of skiing action!
Alpine Skiing
Weekend Starts:
Saturday, January 11
11:30/14:30 – Adelboden (Switzerland), slalom, men
12:15 – St. Anton (Austria), downhill, women
Sunday, January 12
11:30/14:30 – Adelboden (Switzerland), giant slalom, men
12:15 – St. Anton (Austria), super-G, women
The Women's World Cup, after the technical stage in Kranjska Gora, has moved to speed races in St. Anton, which alternates in the calendar with another Austrian location, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, during this time slot. St. Anton hosts the competition in odd years, while Altenmarkt does so in even years. It's worth noting that the stage began with some weather issues: due to heavy snowfall, the second training for downhill scheduled for Friday was canceled. However, the weather forecast for the weekend looks more optimistic.
Regarding the first training held on Thursday, Federica Brignone won with a significant lead of 1.31 seconds, who recently hinted at retirement at the end of the season. Excluding the substantial gap, the top 3 was quite predictable: it also included Lara Gut-Behrami and Sofia Goggia.
It will be very interesting to watch Lindsey Vonn in St. Anton, whose return to the World Cup has been unexpectedly strong: 14th place in St. Moritz in December. Will she be able to maintain at least the same level? It’s quite possible. At least, the tenth result in the first training sets an optimistic tone.
As for her equally star compatriot, Mikaela Shiffrin, she continues her recovery process after an injury. On January 8, the American returned to on-snow training, but the date for her return to racing is still not announced.
Another star, Marta Bassino, will also miss the stage in St. Anton due to illness. This comes at an unfortunate time, considering that the Italian has noticeably dropped in giant slalom and has shifted her priorities towards speed events.
For the men, the classic January series of the most prestigious stages in Switzerland and Austria begins. Traditionally, it kicks off with the technical stage in Adelboden. The legendary "Hüniosbergli" course, with its famous almost vertical finish, is one of the most challenging tests in technical disciplines. Packed stands with tens of thousands of Swiss fans create an incredible atmosphere.
It should be noted that heavy snowfall is forecasted for Saturday, which has forced the organizers to make adjustments to the stage program. The slalom and giant slalom have been swapped; slalomists will compete on Saturday. This decision is quite logical: it will be easier to clear the shorter slalom course of snow and prepare it for the competition.
On Wednesday, another classic World Cup start took place – the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, which concluded the Christmas and New Year Italian tour. It is worth mentioning that this start usually takes place in December, just before Christmas. Moving the start to January can be considered an unfortunate decision: there were significantly fewer spectators in the stands than usual.
Despite the fact that the "Canalone Miramonti" course is not considered the most difficult, this year there were many DNFs: 23 in the first run and another 9 in the second. Among the casualties in the first run was, in particular, Clément Noël, whose season has gone awry after a DNF and injury in the home giant slalom in Val d'Isère. Christoph Jakobsen and the host Alex Vinatzer also failed to finish, both taking significant risks in the first run while aiming for strong times.
The Austrian team faced challenges. Marco Schwarz DNF'd in the first run and is still struggling to regain his usual form and stability after two injuries and nearly a year off. Manuel Feller showed the fourth best time in the first run but also DNF'd in the second. With only 2 finishes in 8 races this season, his statistics are poor for the current World Cup slalom champion. Ultimately, the best Austrian was Fabio Gstrein, finishing in just tenth place.
It should be noted that the setup for the second course was quite tricky and deceptive. After transitioning to a steep section, there was a very tight combination of gates. As a result, most athletes were forced to either slow down before entering the steep section or, if they entered at high speed, made mistakes. Almost the only one who managed to navigate the first half of the course on the edge of risk without errors was Albert Popov, allowing the Bulgarian to surge from eighth place after the first run and achieve his first career victory in the World Cup and only the second victory in Bulgaria's history.
The slalom conclusion was dramatic. With a lead of 1.08 seconds over Popov, Atle Lie McGrath was in the lead, but he also DNF'd on the second course. The same happened with his teammate Alexander Steen Olsen, who was in 11th place. Timon Haugan also DNF'd in the first run. As for Henrik Kristoffersen, he managed to move from ninth to fifth in the second run, but this was not enough to retain his lead in the World Cup slalom standings. The red bib was taken by Swiss Loïc Meillard, who finished second in Madonna.
The top 3 was rounded out by Croatian Samuel Kolega, marking his first career podium in the World Cup. The younger brother of Zrinka Lutić, Tvrtko, made his World Cup debut. His first attempt was unfortunate: 50th place in the first run – the worst among all who finished the first run.
Daniel Yule advanced from 18th to seventh in the second run. Not bad, but if it weren't for a noticeable mistake in the second run, the Swiss could have even made it to the podium. Dave Riding also had a tough second run, finishing only 14th overall. Steven Amiez finally avoided disaster in the second run, but it didn’t bring him to the podium: he finished in fourth place.
Lukas Brotén moved from 16th to ninth in the second run. He can only blame himself for being so low after the first run: he made a significant mistake that cost him 0.2 – 0.3 seconds. Benjamin Ritchie surged from 22nd to ninth in the overall standings in the second run. For the 24-year-old American, this is the best result of his career in the World Cup.