Yule beats Ryding to win slalom in Kitzbuehel

KITZBUEHEL,AUSTRIA,22.JAN.23 – Daniel Yule. Photo: GEPA pictures

KITZBUEHEL, Austria — Swiss skier Daniel Yule won a men’s World Cup slalom Sunday after first-run leader Manuel Feller straddled a gate and failed to finish his home race.

Daniel Yule used the third-fastest final run to defeat last year’s winner, Dave Riding, to earn his second victory of the season. Yule remains the only 2022-23 slalom winner without a Norwegian passport. Ryding used the best second run to move up 14 positions to finish the race second. In third was Norwegian Lucas Braathen. Braathen was in second after the first run and ended the day a 0.01 of a second behind Ryding but only 0.01 ahead of fourth-place Strasser.

“I raced my first World Cup event here. Somehow this is a love affair with Kitz,” Yule said. “I think as a ski racer, it would not be the same without Kitzbuehel. To win here twice is just incredible.”

Braathen reclaimed the red slalom season leader’s bib for Tuesday’s night race in Schladming. The Super Bowl of men’s slalom.

Henrik Kristoffersen, who won the classic slalom at Wengen last week, placed fifth after bouncing back from a disappointing opener, leaving him ninth after the initial run.

This is Ryding’s third career Kitzbühel podium. He loves the Hahnenkamm slalom. Half of his six podiums have come in the Tirolean resort.

“I nearly stopped believing in myself this year, but I thought: ‘you know what, just go for it.’ And it helped,” said Ryding, who was 1.56 seconds off the pace in the opening run.

“I changed my setup between runs. I had my flow, I had my rhythm back. Sometimes you need a kick in the a(asterisk)(asterisk), that’s what I got. I went all-in, really all-in,” said Ryding, who earned three of his six career podiums in Kitzbuehel.

“The atmosphere is so good, the piste is awesome. When it’s so good, you have to perform,” he said.

The Kitzbühel slalom is very demanding because of the endless terrain changes. Therefore, it is only possible to set a demanding course. It is a fight to the bottom and no one is capable of making it look easy. Today was no exception. However, the entire field of slalom skiers provided compelling competition on the very icy slope.

Austria is desperate for a 2022-23 slalom victory and Manuel Feller led today after the first run. He left the gate with a (-0.85) advantage over the leader in the finish Daniel Yule. However, the pressure has to be enormous. Whether or not it played a role in Feller straddling and not finishing will never be known. Feller was unable to make it to the first split and deflated the home crowd. Consequently, the fastest Austrian was Adrian Pertl in ninth.

“Sure, it hurts. It’s a shame I didn’t even get a split time and couldn’t show what I can do,” said Feller, who lives in a village some 20 kilometers away from Kitzbuehel.

“I really feel sorry for ‘Felli,’ he is doing so well, he is always attacking, and straddling is never nice. But I am very happy with my win, of course,” Yule said.

During the final run, the action got very exciting when the 15th man to ski, last year’s winner Dave Ryding, crossed with a (-0.83) lead. He was comfortable until the World Cup slalom leader Henrik Kristoffersen came within (+0.07). However, both were well ahead of the others in the finish. Ryding held the lead for the next eight racers. The eventual winner, Swiss racer Daniel Yule, seventh on the first run, finally replaced Ryding in the leader’s chair. However, the top three stayed the same for the next four racers. Linus Stasser, third on the first run, crossed into third, guaranteeing Yule a podium. Then when Braathen crossed in third (+.01) behind Ryding and the British racer was also guaranteed a podium.

The racers able to make the most significant moves up the leaderboard during the second run include Ryding, +14 positions, Belgium, Armand Marchant, +12 positions, and the young Norwegian, Alexander Steen Olsen, +10 positions. Notably, Henrik Kristoffersen moved up +9 ranks to turn his day around and finish fifth.

The only North American in the second run was Canadian Erik Read who skied first on the second run and moved up seven positions to finish the race 22nd. 13 nations had athletes that qualified for the final.

The slalom in Kitzbuehel was the first of three technical races in Austria within four days, including a night slalom on Tuesday and a GS on Wednesday in Schladming.

Analysis of the fastest three racers, the qualified North Americans, and the top 30 first-run results

Top 30 first-run results Kitzbühel SL January 22nd

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.