Alpine skiing: Noel follows Hirscher as Zagreb winner

The Austrians, however, could not use their good starting position from the first round. After the first run, Michael Matt was just behind Zen houses in second place, but was the only runner to decide. On his comeback, Manuel Feller slipped from seventh to twelfth (1.15), Fabio Gstrein from eleventh to 17th (1.31). The best ÖSV runner was Marco Schwarz, who improved from 22nd to 11th place (1.02) with the third best runtime.

For the season winners Alexis Pinturault (Val d’Isere) and Henrik Kristoffersen, the race on Zagreb’s local mountain did not end as desired. The Frenchman finished ninth (0.97) after a serious mistake in the first round. Kristoffersen only had to be satisfied with the disappointing 19th place (1.36). His compatriot Alexander Aamodt Kilde thus kept the lead in the overall World Cup.

Young slalom aces show up

During the 20-year-old podium debutant Vinatzer, the 22-year-old Belgian Armand Marchant (best time in the decision) in fifth place (0.49) and the 19-year-old Norwegian Lucas Braathen as sixth (0.63) some young runners Surprisingly, in the top field, the ÖSV runners could not use the perfect but icy slope for a top position.

At least Black was satisfied with his second round. “In the second run I accelerated. The trust is there again, something goes on immediately. Now the races are coming one after the other. It means staying fit and continuing to work, ”said the 22-year-old Carinthian in an ORF interview and looked positively into January with five other races.

Gstrein shows, Feller runs “blue”

While Marc Digruber and Johannes Strolz were eliminated in the first run, Gstrein ensured an ÖSV bright spot. The 22-year-old Tyrolean qualified with start number 53 for the decision and scored points for the first time in his tenth World Cup slalom. “It is casual that I got into the points. This is definitely good for the head. Then you can go full throttle in the next races, ”said Gstrein.

Feller was also satisfied with his comeback after the herniated disc. “In the end it was a good first race. Of course I would have liked to look towards the top ten, but I also take it. Every point that I take with me is a success, ”explained the 27-year-old Tyrolean, who also felt the effort after a break of several weeks. “I think I’ve never been so blue in my life. I don’t know what took so much strength. Maybe I need to stabilize my back more, ”said Feller.

Matt struggles with “stupid” mistakes

Meanwhile, Matt did not finish stable. The 26-year-old Tyrolean was only 0.07 seconds behind Zenhausen after the first round and had the chance of his second World Cup victory since March 2017. In the decision, however, Matt got an inner position and retired.

“I pushed too much down the steep slope. And then it dug me out. I wanted to stay inside, but then I slipped away. You have to attack, but mistakes like this must not happen, you train for that. This is stupid. But the speed is back, that’s the positive. You can’t change it anyway, now you have to think about the next race, ”Matt explained for the next slalom on Wednesday in Madonna di Campiglio.

Noel leads in the Slalom World Cup

The victory was ultimately determined by Noel and Zenhaeuser. In the end, the Frenchman was just ahead and took the lead in the Slalom World Cup with his victory by five points over the Swede Andre Myhrer, who was fourth in Zagreb. “I have known since the beginning of the season that I am very fast and in good shape. Now it worked, ”said Noel, who had made a mistake in the first round.

In the meantime, Zenhausen managed the first run as requested. The Swiss could not use his second intermediate lead after that in Kitzbühel for his second slalom victory. “Over time, you learn to go into the second round as the leader. Of course you are a little nervous. But I tried to drive easily, ”said the 27-year-old. “But it would be totally presumptuous if I were no longer satisfied with second place. I finally threaded in the last race. ”

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