Solid start

Red-white-red podium finish in hundredths thriller

The men's European Cup opener in Levi turned into a real hundredths of a second thriller. After the first run, 22 athletes were within one second of each other - to make it into the top 30, they had to lose no more than 1.28 seconds in run one.

A "feat" that both Moritz Zudrell from Silbertal and Jakob Greber from Mellau achieved. Zudrell went into the final from 27th place, 1.12 seconds behind half-time leader Mikkel Remsoey (Nor). "Because the gaps were so small, you couldn't afford to make any mistakes," said the 19-year-old, who was competing in only his sixth European Cup slalom in Finland - and once again showed off his huge talent in the second run.

Up twelve places
With the fourth-best time, the Head driver improved by twelve positions and equaled his second-best EC result in 15th place. "Race two went well, but there is certainly room for improvement. All in all, it was a solid start to the season," summed up "Zudi", who finished just 0.99 seconds behind winner Tommaso Saccardi.

Significant improvement on the flat
Greber, who made up one place in the final and finished 17th (+1.16), was also not dissatisfied. "When we were here two years ago, I lost a second on the flat section alone. From that point of view, it was definitely a step forward today," explained the man from Bregenzerwald, who is hoping for a slightly more selective course for today's rematch in Levi. 

Simon Rueland celebrated third place in Levi.(Bild: Ski Austria)

Squadless Tyrolean in third place
The best Austrian was 27-year-old Simon Rueland. The Tyrolean, who is not a member of the ÖSV squad this winter, finished 0.23 seconds behind Saccardi and just 0.04 seconds behind Remosey in third place in Levi after finishing second at the halfway stage, thus claiming the second EC podium finish of his career.