And The Winner Is... Marcel Hirscher
The races at the World Cup Finals in Are went into the last round and both the cup and the race win went to Austria's Marcel Hirscher.
As for most of the season, the battle at the top of the giant slalom rankings is between Marcel Hirscher and Henrik Kristoffersen. Despite a mistake in the first run, the Austrian could take the lead in the first run and hold on going into a shortened second run. With this he claimed his 13th win of the season, equalling a record set by Ingemar Stenmark and Hermann Maier. He also won 11 of the last 12 races in that discipline, what allowed him to earn his 5th crystal globe in giant slalom.
The fastest man in the second run was Henrik Kristoffersen! The Norwegian, who has celebrated 11 second places this season, was able to beat Marcel Hirscher in the second run, but still ended in second place, +0.23 off the winning pace. Kristoffersen consolidated his second place in the giant slalom season ranking, proving that he made a big step in that discipline this season.
In third place Victor Muffat-Jeandet grabs his first giant slalom podium of the season. The French athlete had his breakthrough two seasons ago, but struggled to score podiums last season and at the beginning of 2017/18. In Wengen, with his first World Cup win in alpine combined, things changed and he could carry on winning an Olympic bronze medal in that discipline and now enjoy a third place in giant slalom, his 7th in career.
Another Frenchman finished in the third place of the season ranking in giant slalom. It’s the only man that was able to win a race in Marcel Hirscher’s long winning streak; Alexis Pinturault. With his win in Val d’Isère and solid results throughout the season, including three third spots, he was able to climb on the cup podium for the sixth consecutive year.
As predicted the wind was blowing over Are this morning and stronggusts forced the organisers to cancel the last events scheduled on Sunday; the ladies’ giant slalom and the men’s slalom.
On the men’s side, the battle for the giant slalom and the overall globe was wrapped up in Kranjska Gora , with Marcel Hirscher winning both season standings. In total, the Austrian now has 17 World Cup globes in his collection: seven Overalls, won in a row in the last seven seasons, and 5 giant slalom (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and 5 slalom (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) cups. This season has been Marcel Hirscher’s best season ever, as he scored 13 World Cup wins, equaling the record of most wins in a season set by Hermann Maier and Ingemar Stenmark.
In the Overall ranking, Hirscher is trailed by his biggest contender, Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen. The slalom globe winner of 2016 been challenging Hirscher in the tech disciplines all season long and earns a second place in both the Overall and the slalom standings. Yesterday, he already picked up his medal for the second place in giant slalom.
With the cancellation of today’s slalom, the third place of the Overall ranking goes to speed skier Aksel Lund Svindal. The Norwegian claims an incredible 22nd medal in a season ranking and is now up to 35 World Cup wins and 77 World Cup podiums.
The slalom season standings are completed by the Olympic Champion André Myhrer. The Swede was hoping to be able to race in front of his home crowd today but was happy to conclude his strong season with a third place in the cup standings.
The Audi World Cup Finals in Are concluded the 2017/2018 season. All teams are now heading home and will soon be back on the slopes to test skis for next season.
