The Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen won for the fourth time in Schladming. Austrian halftime leader Marco Schwarz slipped after a few goals in the second half. A runabout almost made the race a nude slalom at short notice.
The Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen celebrated his fourth victory in the World Cup slalom in Schladming on Tuesday and caught up with the record winner Benjamin Raich. The Salzburg player won 0.34 seconds ahead of Alexis Pinturault (FRA) and 0.83 seconds ahead of three-time winner Daniel Yule (SUI). Half-time leader Marco Schwarz was disqualified in the final.
Black made a serious mistake in the second run in front of 38,000 spectators, only finished 27th and was also disqualified. Michael Matt was the 15th best-placed Austrian. This is the worst ÖSV performance in a men’s World Cup slalom since Kitzbühel 44 years ago. The Frenchman Clement Noel improved in the final from 30th to fourth place (+0.99).
Black was aiming for his first slalom victory after finishing third in Adelboden and two in Kitzbühel. But in the decision a serious mistake knocked him out of the race. “It is a pity I wanted to go home,” said the third World Cup winner in an ORF interview. “I attacked, mistakes can happen there. It’s very bitter.” He was relaxed before the second run, said the 25-year-old, who retired for the third time in his career after half-time leadership, as in the previous year in Adelboden and Zagreb.
Kristoffersen also failed to get his second slalom win of the season clear. “After the mistake the head was gone, it was just straight, straight, straight,” said the Norsker to his misfortune and asked: “How is it possible to win a race with such a mistake?” The Frenchman Clement Noel improved in the final from 30th to fourth place (+0.99), he had made a serious mistake in the first round and was 2.60 seconds behind Black.
A bizarre incident happened when Alex Vinatzer crossed the finish line: A lightly dressed speedster ran across the finish line and triggered the timekeeping. The Italian mistakenly believed himself to be the leader for a short time before the time was corrected. It was the same woman who had already played in the 2019 Champions League final.
Among other things, she held up a sign saying “RIP Kobe” after the American basketball icon Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in the USA on Sunday.
Vinatzer took it sporty: “But there I have a cool finish photo,” he told the German press agency. The German ski racer Linus Straßer reacted with humor to the scene, which he had not even noticed. “I didn’t experience it directly because I had to give this interview here. Shit. I’ll definitely look at it again,” he said immediately after the situation. A ski race in Schladming is something like a Champions League final in football, he said. At the Planai in Styria there are tens of thousands of spectators along the route.
The race to read in the live ticker:
Source: SN
–
