Zenhaeusern Wins Alta Badia Slalom
The second race in Alta Badia met the expectations and delivered a great show with the first slalom race of the season. Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI) walked away with the victory after an incredible fight in the second run.
The Swiss skier was 8th after run 1, but made his way to the first spot on the podium with a strong second run. Zenhaeusern celebrates today his second Slalom World Cup victory at his very first race of the season.
"I was a bit nervous, being this my first race of the season. It's great to see that I have a good level and I am looking forward to racing again tomorrow in Campiglio!" said Zenhaeusern.
Behind him, there was an incredible battle between top skiers, with two Austrians managing to join Zenhaeusern on the podium. Manuel Feller (AUT), who started with bib 26, finished the first run in 13th place and completed his comeback in the second run to close in second place, 0.08s behind the winner.
It was the first podium since March 2019 for an emotional Manuel Feller: "It's the most emotional moment of my career. I had a very hard season last year and it feels so amazing to see again the green light after crossing the finish line."
Marco Schwarz (AUT) joined his teammate on the podium in third position, only 0.04s behind Feller. Schwarz climbed back from 10th position in run 2 and clebrates his 6th Slalom World Cup podium!
Leader of first run,Alex Vinatzer (ITA) delivered a solid second run, which however was not enough to claim a podium finish. Vinatzer finished fourth overall, 0.19s behind Zenhaeusern.
Three Americans started, including 2019 NCAA Slalom Champion Jett Seymour, who made his World Cup debut.
Though no Americans made the top 30, coach Ryan Wilson still found some positives in the day. "Ben (Ritchie) approached the day with confidence and skied well," he said. "He was loose and fast before he went out. That's my highlight of the day. He showed he's got the speed to hang." Luke Winters and Jett finished but did not qualify for a second run.
It was a tight race, with Switzerland's Ramon Zenhausern taking the victory by a mere eight hundredths, followed by the Austrian duo of Manuel Feller in second, and Marco Schwarz in third, .12 seconds off the pace.
Ryan said the guys have been skiing solid and fast in training, and the crew will look forward to another chance on Tuesday night under the lights at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. The young slalom crew will look to build up to the busy tech run in early January.
