History has been written

The men’s slalom has been wild and unpredictable so far this season. Top athletes completing near-perfect first runs, with the expectation to win in the second run, but finish with DNFs, to racers claiming their first slalom World Cup victories. Today, history was rewritten for Great Britain.

A veteran of the slalom, Dave Ryding (GBR), had only placed twice on a World Cup podium, 2nd in Kitzbühel (2017) and 3rd in Adelboden (2021), but today, he changed history for himself and for Great Britain. Starting with bib 15, the Brit finished in 6th after his first run with a 0.81-second deficit on the leader, Alex Vinatzer (ITA). But after completing a near-perfect second run, on a very challenging course set, he claimed his seat on the leader board seat. With five more athletes to tackle the course after him, Ryding sat impatiently waiting for the race to end. When seeing Vinatzer make a huge mistake that cost him too much time in his second run, Ryding knew that the wait was over and that he had won his first slalom World Cup and the first alpine World Cup for Great Britain.

Claiming his first slalom World Cup victory, Lucas Braathen (NOR) was determined to show that it was not just a one-off result. Skiing with power and determination, the Norwegian finished 2nd with a 0.27 second lead on his Norwegian compatriot. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), who has previously claimed 2 victories in Kitzbühel, had trouble in his first run where he qualified 24th, but after fighting back from the back of the pack in the second run, he finished 3rd to claim his fourth podium in Kitzbühel.

Needless to say, a slalom race in Kitzbühel is never easy, 22 competitors didn’t manage to finish their first run and 11 in the second run. Today’s race and course sets pushed athletes to find the limits of the course.