French skier Clement Noël delivered a commanding performance at the FIS World Cup Slalom in Levi, Finland, on Sunday, November 17. The reigning Olympic champion dominated the icy “Black Levi” slope, leading after the first run and fending off fierce competition to claim the top spot.
Noël, who had struggled with comfort during his initial run, found his rhythm in the second. “First run I was quite surprised to be in the lead because I was not really comfortable on the snow,” Noël explained. “Then in the second run, I changed a few things on my setup and was way more comfortable. I just tried to push really hard because I knew it was tight.”
Trailing by 0.80 seconds, Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen showcased his expertise in the second run, climbing from 11th to second place with an aggressive and polished effort. “The second run was more to attack. It was still missing a few points, but it was solid skiing,” Kristoffersen said. “Clement was definitely one step better than us today.”
Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard completed the podium, just 0.95 seconds off the lead, in a strong return following a minor back injury. “Definitely a great start,” Meillard remarked. “It showed I can ski fast and that I am ready for the next races.”
The race also was the second event of the comeback for Marcel Hirscher and Lucas Braathen. Marcel Hirscher came out of a five-year retiremend and is now skiing under the Dutch flag, while Braathen is skiing for Brazil after a fall-out with the Norwegian Ski Association. 35-year-old Hirscher failed to qualify for Run 2 afterr finishing in a disappointing 46th place in Run 1. Slalom races are conducted in two races with the combined time counting. Only the fastest 30 skiers qualify for Run 2. The eight-time overall World Cup winner had utilized the newly-introduced wildcard and started in bib 31 after the field of the top 30 ranked Slalom skiers but failed to qualify for Run 2, skiing across the finish line 2.59 seconds behind Noël. Meanwhile, Braathen in bib 33 fared much better than Hirscher and skied into ninth place on Run 1, qualifying him for Run 2. On Run 2 the Norwegian turned Brazilian put down an impressive run with the second fastest second run time, pushing him into fourth place, missing out on the podium by a mere 0.1 seconds.
Meanwhile, American skier Benjamin Ritchie achieved a career milestone, finishing 13th after starting with bib 48—a performance that earned him the Stifel Bibbo Award for the biggest jump in rankings. “I am really happy with the result today. I thought I skied very well,” Ritchie said. “Some mistakes here and there, but that’s how it goes in racing.”
Ben Ritchie’s strong showing in the second run underscored the competitive spirit within the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. “I think the training sessions have all been extremely competitive between the four of us so I think it’s some good momentum for the slalom skiing and I think we will all bring our best skiing next weekend in Gurgl,” said Ritchie.
The World Cup continues in Gurgl, Austria, on Sunday, November 24.
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