Henrik Kristoffersen has been the guy to beat in Alpine Skiing World Cup slalom races this season. And yet no one, except Marcel Hirscher in Santa Caterina, has been able to do that. Today was no different. Wengen, though usually one of the toughest races, was set on the lower part of the downhill as the original hill wasn’t able to get enough snow to be successfully prepared for the race. The easy course resulted in closer results and a lot of high-numbered bibs racing in the second run.

Run 1

Cold morning in Wengen, Switzerland, started nicely for Kristoffersen. Despite not having the perfect run, he was quite ahead of his opposition in Run 1; Giuliano Razzoli in second place just 0.16 seconds behind and 0.35 seconds in front of Felix Neureuther in third place. Even better news for him came after seeing his arch rival Hirscher struggle on the slope, which is not suited for his abilities, and only placing in the 10th position. 

Hirscher’s was not the only one with an off day today. Alexander Khoroshilov was one of the many casualties in the first run, but certainly the most shocking one. Manuel Feller and Julien Lizeroux did not finish the race after very good intermediate times, while Riccardo Tonetti got to the finish area with the fourth-quickest time but was later disqualified. Fritz Dopfer, one of the favorites of the race, wasn’t even quick enough to get to the second run despite no huge mistakes. The easier course allowed three racers with the bib number higher than 50 into the second run. Thomas Mermillod Blondin even recorded the ninth-quickest time of the run with the number bib 52, while young 20-year-old Slovenian Štefan Hadalin made his first World Cup final round with the 23rd–quickest time.

Run 2

Small differences in the first run promised an interesting second run and huge leaps in the rankings. First to use the opportunity of the good course was Robin Buffet. The young Frenchman who’s still waiting for a breakthrough in the World Cup, skied perfectly and took the lead. The run later took him from 27th to 11th position. However, his lead didn’t last long.

Jens Byggmark, the experienced Swede who was a bit disappointed by his mediocre first run that took him to only 22nd position, showed the skills that got him multiple World Cup wins in the past. He kept his lead for quite a while and it didn’t really seem like anyone could beat him. Every racer that started after Byggmark was finding himself in trouble and not being able to beat his time. It was Hirscher’s turn as he started aggressively from the start position with the main goal to beat Byggmark’s time. But it wasn’t to be as Hirscher failed to finish the race. It was a huge shock to see Hirscher getting thrown around the course, as opposed to having everything in control like he’s used to.

Many came close to Byggmark’s time but the first person who was able to come to the finish area with a green light was Stefano Gross, fifth in the first run, only 0.01 seconds in front of the experienced Swede. Gross was thrilled, especially after Jean-Baptiste Grange and Neureuther failed to beat this time, which meant Gross would stand on the podium for the first time since Schladming almost a year ago. It was Razzoli’s time to finally score another great result, after being quite unlucky this season. Razzoli, however, did not want to let this opportunity slip and managed to cross the finish line with the fastest time and his first podium of the season.

The only person left at the top was Henrik Kristoffersen. The talented youngster didn’t let anything surprise him. Despite being 0.05 seconds behind at the last intermediate, he showed off his amazing stamina and skied perfectly in the bottom part to take the win 0.30 seconds ahead of the competitors.

Kristoffersen’s win completed the total domination by Norway this weekend. After Kjetil Jansrud’s win in Alpine Combined on Friday and Aksel Lund Svindal’s win in Downhill on Saturday, Kristoffersen completed the hat-trick.

Wengen Slalom Results:

1. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) 1:37.85
2. Giuliano Razzoli (ITA) +0.30
3. Stefano Gross (ITA) +0.68
4. Jens Byggmark (SWE) +0.69
5. Felix Neureuther (GER) +0.79

Slalom World Cup Standings:

1. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) – 480 points
2. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) – 340 points
3. Felix Neureuther (GER) – 187 points
4. Alexander Khoroshilov (RUS) – 174 points
5. Giuliano Razzoli (ITA) – 156 points