RTL in Kranjska Gora
LIVE: Haaser crosses the finish line and the light turns green
Stefan Brennsteiner raced to third place in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora. The victory went to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen from Brazil, with Loic Meillard from Switzerland coming in second.
Salzburg's Stefan Brennsteiner secured his third giant slalom podium finish of the Alpine Ski World Cup season with third place in Kranjska Gora on Saturday. The winner of Copper Mountain was 0.80 seconds behind Brazilian half-time leader Lucas Pinheiro Braathen in the penultimate competition of the season in this discipline. The Olympic champion won 0.54 seconds ahead of Swiss slalom Olympic champion Loic Meillard. His compatriot Marco Odermatt finished fifth (+1.33).
The result:
Decision in Hafjell
This means that the decision in the World Cup discipline will not be made until the final week on March 24 in Hafjell. Odermatt is still clearly in pole position, but his lead over Braathen has shrunk from 103 to 48 points. With Raphael Haaser (+1.98) and Marco Schwarz (+2.03), who was fourth at the halfway stage, finishing ninth and tenth, other ÖSV racers made it into the top ten in the day's rankings. Joshua Sturm finished 23rd (+3.14). Patrick Feurstein, who was seventh at the halfway stage, fell in the second run, while Noel Zwischenbrugger failed to finish the first run. Lukas Feurstein (47th) did not qualify.
"Cool that it was enough for the podium"
Brennsteiner was in second place at the halfway point, but his second run was not as good as his first. "I took the pressure too late a few times, so I was too far away from the gate," the 34-year-old explained in an interview with ORF. He also said that he was lacking a bit of speed. The second run was clearly faster than the first, with a time that was around nine seconds shorter. Many, including Brennsteiner, therefore opted for longer skis in the final. "It's cool that it was enough for the podium."
He will now take a short break and then prepare well for his final race in Norway. Brennsteiner, who competed in the two World Cup giant slaloms before the Slovenia stop in Adelboden in the red jersey, now has no chance of winning the small crystal globe, trailing by 114 points, but Meillard, who is 89 points behind, still has a chance. Brennsteiner said that his failure in Adelboden still annoyed him, at least more than his Olympic performance, where he finished eighth. "I just didn't ski well enough in Bormio."
Haaser in the top ten with second-best time
Haaser improved by ten places with the second-best time in the second run behind Norway's Atle Lie McGrath (4th/+1.12). "That was a step in the right direction." The gate setting by a Norwegian coach suited the strong super-G skier. "The giant slalom should be like that from time to time. It's also a bit more relaxed to watch when there's speed involved," said the world champion. He couldn't understand the criticism from Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen (+1.72), who finished seventh behind France's Leo Anguenot (+1.49).
For Schwarz, on the other hand, instead of attacking the podium places, he fell back six places. "Maybe it was a bit too risky. There wasn't much I could take away from today. On a course like this, you have to totally overcome yourself." He is looking forward to Sunday's slalom. "The special slalom at the Olympics was already a step in the right direction. I have more confidence again and will attack wisely. I also have to push myself to the limit in the slalom. A top ten finish is definitely possible."
Sturm secured his ticket to the season finale, which is also his goal in the slalom: "But 23rd place won't be enough there. So there's only one motto." He lost nine places in the second giant slalom run. "Maybe it was in the back of my mind a little bit. The World Cup finals were one of my goals for the season, but I missed that goal by a mile today." Feurstein was disappointed not to finish in the top ten: "Seventh or eighth would have been possible. Now, unfortunately, I'm back to zero again." The Vorarlberg native has accumulated four of those this season.
"Living my dream"
For Braathen, this is his first ever victory in the Giant Slalom World Cup and his seventh overall across all disciplines: "It was time for Brazil to have a Giant Slalom victory in the World Cup. I'm really proud. I'm living my dream these days." He sees his chances of winning the crystal globe as intact. "I'll do everything I can, I'll fight. It's going to be a showdown." Ormatt complained on ORF about "little mistakes over and over again." His lead is getting smaller and smaller. "But I was also behind at one point this season, so everything's okay." Third place would be enough for him to win the crystal globe.
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