Floodlit slalom

LIVE: Feller eliminated, ÖSV left without a podium finish

Michael Matt was the best Austrian in twelfth place.(Bild: GEPA)

Austria's technical specialists suffered a bitter defeat in the floodlit slalom in Madonna di Campiglio. While France's Clement Noel raced to victory on Wednesday evening, Michael Matt was the best ÖSV skier, finishing twelfth. Four ÖSV racers, Manuel Feller, Fabio Gstrein, Dominik Raschner, and Joshua Sturm, were eliminated, while Marco Schwarz missed the second run.

The ÖSV slalom skiers suffered their next defeat in Madonna di Campiglio with their worst result of the season so far. With Michael Matt in 12th and Johannes Strolz in 17th, only two Austrians made it into the points in the World Cup night classic. Manuel Feller, who was 14th at the halfway stage, was eliminated in the second run. Marco Schwarz was only a spectator in the final, finishing 36th. First place in the fifth slalom of the winter went to Olympic champion Clement Noel for the first time.

  The Frenchman overtook Finland's Eduard Hallberg (+0.12), who was leading at the halfway stage. Third place went to Noel's compatriot and Gurgl winner Paco Rassat (+0.37). Noel, who finished second in Levi and most recently in Alta Badia, celebrated his 15th World Cup victory. "It's always special in Madonna. It's been a bit difficult for me here in recent years, so the victory is very, very nice. I'm very happy with my race," said Noel after his first triumph in the Italian Dolomite resort.

Clement Noel (left) celebrates his victory in Madonna.(Bild: AP/Marco Trovati)

Having Rassat standing next to him on the podium made it even better. "It's something special to stand on the podium with a friend." Rassat agreed, emphasizing, "It's really nice to start the slalom season in January like this." While Hallberg, who finished third in Levi, returned to the podium, Switzerland's Tanguy Nef, who was in second place behind Noel after the first run, slipped to tenth place.

Feller crashes out instead of catching up
The Austrians, who are still without a top-five result in slalom in the Olympic season, were already well behind after the first run with very close time differences. Instead of a comeback like in Alta Badia (11th), Feller crashed out on the icy "Canalone Miramonti." His high risk in the second run did not pay off. "If I don't take risks, you quickly find yourself in 15th or 20th place – that's not why I ski, I want to keep moving forward," said Feller, promising to continue attacking. "I can only keep going and give everything I've got. Maybe it will work out in Adelboden," said the former Slalom World Cup winner.

Manuel Feller(Bild: AFP/PIERRE TEYSSOT)

Matt made up some ground after finishing 17th in the first run. "The mistake in the middle section hurts a lot, but otherwise the speed is good. If I can show that in two runs, it's possible that I'll be back at the front again," said the Tyrolean. Last year, too, there was nothing to be gained for the ÖSV team in Trentino. Fabio Gstrein, who finished tenth at the time, was eliminated this time, as were Dominik Raschner and Joshua Sturm. Simon Rueland and Jakob Greber, like Schwarz, missed the second run.

Former Madonna winner Schwarz "just bad"
Schwarz, who had two victories (RTL, Super-G) before Christmas, couldn't get into his carving at all. "It didn't have much to do with slalom skiing. I think I just didn't ski cleanly enough. It wasn't the equipment's fault, I have to take responsibility for that myself, it was just bad," said Schwarz. After good training runs, the 2023 Madonna winner had hoped to improve in the slalom as well, but he will have to postpone that plan until the weekend. "Let's move on, it continues in Adelboden," said Schwarz, who defended his second place in the overall World Cup behind the dominant Marco Odermatt ahead of the giant slalom and slalom in Switzerland. In the slalom standings, however, things are looking bleak for the ÖSV. Matt is the best Austrian in twelfth place.