KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — On Sunday, Henrik Kristoffersen delivered an impressive comeback performance to clinch victory in a men’s World Cup slalom race, marking his second triumph in as many days.
The Norwegian ski racer, who recently claimed the title of world champion for 2023, found himself in sixth place after the initial run, trailing by 0.62 seconds. However, during the final run, under the bright afternoon sun and on a deteriorating course, Kristoffersen posted the ninth-fastest time, which propelled him to victory.
Following his win in Saturday’s giant slalom, Kristoffersen celebrated a successful weekend by leading fellow Norwegian Timon Haugan by a slim 0.17-second margin, achieving a 1-2 finish for Norway.
“It was a good second run. I think I still messed up the top and the second part a little bit,” admitted Kristoffersen. “Very tight today, so I’m lucky to be on the right side of the hundredths.”
This weekend marked a personal milestone for Kristoffersen, as it was the first time he secured victories in both GS and slalom races on the same weekend. “This was a big goal for me, so very happy with today,” he expressed.
Manuel Feller, the reigning World Cup slalom champion, shared the fastest time with Kristoffersen in the opening run but ultimately finished 0.23 seconds behind in third place.
World champion Loic Meillard led after the first run but slipped to fourth, missing Feller’s time by a mere hundredth of a second. This season, Meillard has consistently reached the podium in slalom events, though his sole career World Cup win in this discipline occurred last year in Aspen, Colorado.
Victor Muffat-Jeandet, wearing bib 38 and starting in 26th, showcased an impressive performance as an early starter in the second run, finishing in sixth place. Meanwhile, his French teammate, Clement Noel, who is also the Olympic champion, ended up four spots behind him.
Noel, with four race victories this season, is trailing Kristoffersen by 77 points in the discipline standings. Although Kristoffersen is second in the overall World Cup standings, he remains 360 points behind Marco Odermatt, the three-time defending champion from Switzerland, who does not participate in slalom events.
Additionally, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who was in contention for a historic win for Brazil after securing the second spot in the previous day’s GS, unfortunately straddled a gate and did not complete his first run.
Looking ahead, the men’s World Cup circuit will head to Norway for a pair of downhill races and a super-G event in Kvitfjell next week.
