Henrik Kristoffersen staged a dramatic comeback to claim victory in the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday, marking his second consecutive win in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
The 2023 world champion from Norway was sixth after the first run, trailing by 0.62 seconds. Despite posting only the ninth-fastest time on a deteriorating course in the final run, he secured the win with a combined time of 1:39.26. Kristoffersen, who had already won Saturday’s giant slalom, led fellow Norwegian Timon Haugan by 0.17 seconds (1:39.43) in a thrilling 1-2 finish for Norway.
“It was a good second run. I think I still messed up the top and the second part a little bit,” Kristoffersen admitted. “Very tight today, so I’m lucky to be on the right side of the hundredths.”
This achievement marked the first time Kristoffersen won both a GS and slalom race in the same weekend. “This was a big goal for me, so very happy with today,” he added.
Manuel Feller, the defending World Cup slalom champion, matched Kristoffersen’s first-run time but finished third, 0.23 seconds behind (1:39.49). World champion Loic Meillard, who led after the opening run, dropped to fourth, just 0.01 seconds behind Feller.
It was a tough day for the Canadian contingent, as Jesse Kertesz-Knight of Jasper, Alta., was the only one to complete the opening run, finishing last among 43 competitors. Calgary’s Erik Read was among 25 skiers who failed to finish.
Victor Muffat-Jeandet, starting 26th, surged to sixth place, while his French teammate, Olympic champion Clement Noel, settled for 10th. Noel, who has won four races this season, now trails Kristoffersen by 77 points in the slalom standings.
Despite Kristoffersen’s success, he remains second in the overall World Cup standings, trailing three-time defending champion Marco Odermatt by 360 points. The Swiss skier, however, does not compete in slaloms.
The men’s World Cup now moves to Norway for two downhill races and a super-G in Kvitfjell next week.
Source: Swifteradio.com
