France’s Alexis Pinturault powered to victory in the opener of this season’s Alpine Skiing World Cup, winning the giant slalom event in Soelden, Austria.
Notching a time of 2:14.01 over the two runs, the 25-year-old finished just 0.7 seconds ahead of Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, a three-time winner in the giant slalom event, in a thrilling encounter.
Felix Neureuther of Germany was third in 2:15.38, getting on the podium for the first time at a World Cup giant slalom.
The curtain-raiser of this year’s Alpine Skiing World Cup provided an early hint as to how tight this season’s competition could be. Pinturault’s margin of victory was half that of Lara Gut, who won the women’s competition the previous day.
A change in the light conditions midway through the day’s racing meant that the second run tended to be about five seconds slower than the first, a detail that benefited some racers, but caused others to struggle.
Switzerland’s Justin Murisier, for example, was initially placed third before slipping to seventh overall following a disappointing second run.
Pressure
Pinturault, however, remained undeterred, clocking the fastest time over both runs of the competition and scooping his 16th World Cup win in the process.
The Frenchman, who has finished third in the overall World Cup standings for the past three seasons, acknowledged that the result bodes well for the rest of the season.
“In the beginning, you never know where you are,” he told the International Ski Federation (FIS) website. “You never know if you are skiing fast or not and just after Soelden, you can see where you are more or less.
“One thing that is easy in skiing is that there is never strategy, you just have to push and push even harder for the second run.”
Pinturault picked up 100 World Cup points for his victory before the Tour heads to Levi, Finland, for the next installment of racing.
His rival Hirscher, who has won the previous five World Cup titles and was favorite to claim the giant slalom title again this year, fought back from an error midway through the final run to finish second.
“I’m super happy,” said the 27-year-old German. “The pressure is definitely on my shoulders, especially at the first race of the season.
“If I am skiing good, everything is fine, but if I am skiing bad, it is never fun so I am super happy and a lot of pressure has gone away.”
28 skiers qualified for the second run, with more than 50 competitors either failing to complete the course or finishing outside the time required.
The racers will now have a fortnight break before the World Cup resumes in Finland on 13th November for a slalom event.
