Seventh in Wengen

Feller almost falls in the snow – and falls back

Atle Lie McGrath (left) won in Wengen, Michael Matt came seventh.(Bild: GEPA)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath won the World Cup slalom in Wengen, just as he did last year. The halfway leader had led a Norwegian triple victory in 2025, and on Sunday he clearly prevailed over Norwegian-born Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) and his teammate Henrik Kristoffersen. The Austrian slalom team remained without a podium finish in the seventh race of the season. The best ÖSV skier was Michael Matt in seventh place.

Manuel Feller fell back from seventh to eleventh place. Behind Adrian Pertl (14th), Joshua Sturm achieved his best slalom result in 16th place. Fabio Gstrein (20th) is still waiting for his first single-digit result in the Olympic winter ahead of the home classics in Kitzbühel and Schladming. "Sixth place would have been possible. Otherwise, the gap after the first run was simply too big," said Matt, who was eleventh in the first run, on ORF. "That was a good performance considering that I started twice in the middle of the field."

The result:

Atle Lie McGrath (left) won in Wengen, Michael Matt finished seventh.(Bild: GEPA)

Norwegian faction puts on a show
McGrath repeated his coup and has now won five World Cup races. "Wengen is special not only for me, but for everyone. Riding up in the train and then this incredible course," said McGrath after he had once again made a kind of "childhood dream" come true. Braathen seemed to be dancing his way to his second victory as a Brazilian after a magical run, but ultimately had to bow to his former teammate by just under half a second. "My job is to put on a show for these warm-hearted people here so that they can dance. That's my job," the entertainer said contentedly to ORF after the race.

Lucas Pinhiero Braathen, Atle Lie McGrrath, and Henrik Kristoffersen (from left to right)(Bild: GEPA)

  Kristoffersen made it onto the World Cup podium for the 100th time after less than ideal preparation. "It means a lot, but I'm not done as a skier yet," said Kristoffersen. He had been sick in bed for five days before Saturday, but said it was enough for a "two-minute workday." In the all-time podium rankings, the 31-year-old is now only behind Ingemar Stenmark (155) and Marcel Hirscher (138). "I said I would ski until the 2030 Olympics. Anything is possible."

Feller's attack failed
With temperatures well above freezing, the slope had already deteriorated after just a few starters in the first run, set by Austria's Martin Kroisleitner. Feller, in particular, feared that he would be "overtaken and passed" by those who benefited from the second run. He took a risk in the final, but slipped on the falling slope and was only able to avoid a crash with an artistic interlude. A top placing was now out of reach. The 2024 winner left Wengen without comment.

Manuel Feller(Bild: GEPA)

Joshua Sturm used his number 3 in the final to make a controlled run and move up twelve places. "I make too many mistakes here and there to be at the very front. But basically, it's going quite well." Johannes Strolz was also passed over after a standstill with the favorable number 6 (28th). Matt, Pertl, and Gstrein were between 11th and 14th at halftime. Matt performed best, proving his improving form, but at the same time reminding us of his starting number problem: "It's a struggle to get back to the front." According to the Tyrolean, it is up to others to decide whether 7th place is enough to secure his ticket to the Olympics. "But I think you can see that things are looking very stable and I've already had some good races, runs and sections this year."