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In Aspen, sparks start flying more than an hour before the start of the race. Henrik Kristoffersen’s father Lars complains loudly to FIS race director Markus Waldner because in his opinion the track has too many differences in preparation (smooth at the top, soft at the bottom).
The general of the International Ski Federation does not accept these accusations and gives the warm-blooded Norwegian the red card. This means: Kristoffersen Senior must follow the competition, also outside the circuit!
ORF expert Thomas Sykora (55, nine World Cup victories) witnessed these verbal blows and sided with Waldner: “Kristoffersen used a few swear words that in my opinion were not appropriate because the route was treated the same everywhere. But because the sun shines brighter in the last part, you have more grip there.” However, the failure rate is extremely high: of the 66 starters, 24 athletes do not see the finish in the first round.
Great Swiss duel
Although the giant dominator Marco Odermatt did not achieve a perfect series either, the man from Nidwalden was ahead at half time. But the filling is thin. The Norwegian Alexander Steen-Olsen (22) is only twelve hundredths behind, Loïc Meillard’s lead is less than two tenths.
While Steen-Olsen drops to seventh place in the final, Meillard comes up with a gigantic assist for his teammate: the Valais takes 65 hundredths off Atle Lie McGrath (No. 23), who improves from seventh to third place , with 65 hundredths.
Odermatt also made some line errors in the second round and was behind Meillard in the meantime. But then the superstar turned up the heat again and recorded his eighth giant slalom victory of the winter.
It is the 26-year-old’s eleventh giant slalom victory in all seasons. With his twelfth victory of the season, the three-time World Cup winner secured the small giant slalom ball for the third time in a row. «When I scored the third goal, I felt that I wasn’t going the way I wanted and I knew it would be very close against Loïc. But I also knew that the last few goals were particularly good for me. And luckily I was able to fix it there,” beams Odermatt, who with his 36th World Cup victory is level with Aksel Lund Svindal (41, no.) and Benni Raich (Ö, 46) on the all-time rankings.
Like at the World Cup in Courchevel
For the Swiss giant slalom team it is the third double victory in the giant slalom in just over thirteen months. In January 2022, Meillard won in Schladming in the absence of Odermatt ahead of Gino Caviezel, and three weeks later Odermatt triumphed ahead of Meillard at the World Cup. Thomas Tumler from Graubünden also has reason to be happy: just like a week earlier, he finished fourth in Palisades Tahoe in Aspen.
And Henrik Kristoffersen? The Viking comes in eighth place and is just as angry as his father.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
