By Canadian Press

Braathen wins 1st World Cup slalom of the season

Dec 11, 2022 | 10:58 AM

VAL d’ISÈRE, France (AP) — A flawless second run helped Lucas Braathen win the first World Cup slalom of the season on Sunday for the third victory of his career.

The Norwegian skier let out a yell and thumped his chest after seeing his time on the board and then he just had to wait for his compatriot and defending World Cup slalom champion Henrik Kristoffersen, who had a slender lead of 0.07 seconds from the first run.

However, an error-strewn run from Kristoffersen on the Face de Bellevarde course in Val d’Isère dropped him to sixth, 1.35 behind Braathen.

“Man, I just want to do it again,” the 22-year-old Braathen said. “It’s an amazing feeling right now.

“I’ll admit I’ve had a great pre-season, to be able to deliver what I’ve been delivering in practice today at the race was simply amazing. I love this place so to be here on the top of the podium today is just magical.”

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Braathen finished 0.84 ahead of Austria’s Manuel Feller. Loïc Meillard of Switzerland was third, 0.98 behind Braathen. Erik Read of Calgary finished in 21st place. 

It ended a miserable run for Feller in the slalom in Val d’Isère after he failed to finish in his five previous races on the course. He was 23rd in 2012, his first on the hill.

“It’s more like a hate and love place combined because I think this was my second finish in slalom over all of the years,” Feller said.

“I was just finishing in my second World Cup race, my first time here, and then always DNF. So that was also the reason why I didn’t risk everything in the second run.”

Olympic champion Clément Noël, silver medallist Johannes Strolz and Atle Lie McGrath went out of the race in the first run after straddling gates as three of the first nine skiers failed to finish.

Noël won on home snow in Val d’Isère last year.

The battle for the slalom title was wide open last season with seven different winners in the first seven races in the discipline. It was a third slalom season title for Kristoffersen.

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The Associated Press