Marcel Hirscher showcased his slalom skills on Tuesday, setting the stage for the upcoming world championships by winning the latest World Cup race with an impressive lead. Hirscher, a seven-time champion from Austria, delivered top performances in both runs amidst a cheering crowd of over 40,000 spectators.
Hirscher took an early lead of about a second in the first run and extended it by two-tenths in the final run, securing victory in the race with a significant gap of 1.21 seconds ahead of France’s Alexis Pinturault. Switzerland’s Daniel Yule finished third, trailing by 1.60 seconds, while the rest of the competitors were behind by at least 2.25 seconds.
Claiming his 10th win of the season and his 68th overall victory, Hirscher expressed his joy at returning to the winning position after being challenged by Clement Noel of France in previous races. Noel, who had bested Hirscher in the last two slaloms, faced a setback early in the current race and was unable to complete it.
Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway, closely following Hirscher and Noel in the slalom standings, skied out during the final run, missing out on scoring points. Hirscher has now won 12 of the last 16 World Cup races but had not recorded the fastest first-run time in the past five races.
