Hirscher Wins In Kranjska Gora And Takes 7th Overall Globe
Another historic day in Kranjska Gora, with Marcel Hirscher winning the slalom and securing both the slalom and the overall globe. Henrik Kristoffersen finishes second and Ramon Zenhäusern takes the third spot on the podium.
Seven in a row! Seven seasons that Marcel Hirscher skis at a level that no one even imagined, being stable, constant and strong as only very few legends before him. With his slalom win in Kranjska Gora today, Marcel Hirscher extended his lead in overall standings to 289 points, a gap that his closest contender Henrik Kristoffersen cannot close with only two tech races to go before the end of the season. He also secured the slalom standings, bringing his crystal globe collection to 17, only trailing Ingemar Stenmark who claimed 19.
His performance in today’s slalom was solid. Despite the fact that he didn’t finish his last race in this discipline (at the Olympics in PyeongChang), Marcel Hirscher had a clear game plan going into the “tricky” slalom on Podkoren and didn’t lose focus despite knowing that Kristoffersen had a great second run.
The Norwegian did the best he could on this day, but as for the 10th time this season, he had to declare himself happy with a second place. A very strong season for Kristoffersen, who claimed not less than 14th podiums. An impressive mark, topped by the win of the slalom in Kitzbuehel.
Switzerland’s Ramon Zenhaeusern found his groove in January and is carrying his momentum through the end of the season, scoring successively his first World Cup win in the city event in Oslo, his first Olympic medals (silver in slalom and gold in the team event) and now confirming his excellent shape on the World Cup in his core discipline the slalom. With this performance, the two meter tall athlete makes his entrance in the Top 7 group of the discipline.