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Meillard finally rises to the top, wins Aspen World Cup Slalom and earns third podium of the weekend

The Elite Times TeamBy No Comments10 Mins Read

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Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard screams in victory after winning the World Cup men’s slalom on Sunday, March 3, 2024 at Aspen Mountain. He had finished second to compatriot Marco Odermatt in the giant slalom race two days earlier. Odermatt did not participate in the slalom.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt stole the show during the first two days of the Aspen World Cup, winning both giant slalom races, but it was teammate Loïc Meillard who came out on top in the Winternationals final.

In harsh winter conditions, the 27-year-old Meillard won Sunday’s slalom after consecutive runner-up finishes to Odermatt, giving the Swiss team a clean sweep of three races.

“The momentum that we probably built in the last race all came together,” Maillard said after Sunday’s race at Aspen Mountain. “It takes energy and concentration and definitely had long rotations today. Skiing is hard and you have to go deep into your body, which makes it even harder. And if you have a good race, everything will be fine. to go well.”

Meillard, who was second to last in the starting gate for Run 2 on Sunday, left little doubt as he raced to the podium. The second run time was 1 minute 42.73 seconds, 0.89 seconds faster than second place Linus Strasser (Germany), but third place Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway) finished 1.17 seconds behind Meillard. .

At the end of the run, France’s Clement Noel was in the lead, but he stepped over the gate on his second run (he was the last one on the course) and was unable to finish.

Race winner Loïc Meillard (Switzerland) will compete in his second World Cup men’s slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times
The Swiss flag is waved after the men’s World Cup slalom competition at Aspen Mountain on Sunday.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

Fourth place went to Johannes Strolz of Austria with a difference of 1.28, and fifth place went to Manuel Ferrer of Austria with a difference of 1.35. Ferrer was the favorite to win this season’s spinning crystal globe and had a chance to win Sunday, but fell short. Still, with two slalom races left, he has a 169-point lead over Strasser in second place. This is Ferrer’s first title in an event.

This was Strasser’s career-best fourth podium of the season. He won the Austrian slalom in January in both Kitzbühel and Schladming.

“It’s not common sense to be on the podium. You have to work hard for it. I try to enjoy it as much as I can,” Strasser said. “The course was pretty much the same as the first run, but with a little more speed and more fluidity. I looked at some of the competitors and came up with my own ski plan, and it worked out really well.”

Germany’s Linus Strasser will compete in the second World Cup men’s slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain. He finished in second place.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times
Announcer Chris “Uncle E” Ernst yells while sitting with a fan during the men’s World Cup slalom competition at Aspen Mountain on Sunday, March 3, 2024.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

It was Meirard’s third career World Cup victory and his first of the season. The other two wins were in the GS last season and in the parallel giant slalom in 2020. He now has a total of 19 World Cup podiums.

Meillard is currently in third place all season in both slalom and GS, as well as overall.

“It’s a special weekend,” Maillard said. He added three of those podiums to his resume last weekend in Aspen. “Before the first run, I said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m good for two more runs.’ After the first run, I said, ‘One more run.'” One more run. I can push myself.’ And then the weekend is over and I can get some rest, and that’s what I did. ”

Focus on ski racing

Friday and Saturday were two days of near-perfect weather, with some strong winds on Saturday afternoon, but a strong winter storm moved into the area Saturday evening, making Sunday’s slalom seem unlikely. It wasn’t there. But somehow, by Sunday afternoon, the winds had subsided and the snow had managed to subside, allowing the slalom to proceed as scheduled, with the start delayed by just an hour.

What people didn’t see were all the workers who helped clear the course on Sunday morning, long before the sun rose.

“The race crew was on the lifts at 3 a.m.,” Aspen Ski executive John Rigney said at Sunday’s awards ceremony. “I haven’t woken up at 3 a.m. since I was 22 years old, and then a truck with other people came and pulled this and that and everything up to the ground. So to those people… Please lend me your hand.”

Longtime Aspen World Cup race director Jim Hancock had emotional words for the crowd after the World Cup men’s slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain. After more than 20 years in the role and even more success in Aspen racing, Hancock is retiring.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

Rigney also made sure to mention Jim Hancock, who has been race director of the Aspen World Cup since 1998 and has worked on every race since 1981. Mr Hancock is retired and this year’s World Cup was his swan song.

Hancock didn’t say much after Sunday’s spin, but like Rigney, he was impressed with the effort that went into holding the race in difficult weather.

“When I got here at 2 o’clock this morning, I thought I had maybe a 2 percent chance of doing this,” Hancock said. “And thanks to the incredible efforts of hundreds of people to make this race happen. Unbelievable. That’s all I have to say.”

From left: Germany’s Linus Strasser (second place), Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard (first place), and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen on the podium at the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain. 3rd place).
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

Follow Stenmark

Odermatt, who won a record third consecutive Crystal Globe overall at Palisades Tahoe last weekend, won both giant slalom races in Aspen.they were his 11th and 12th GS consecutive wins. Only Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark has a higher record in a single discipline (14, GS).

Odermatt heads into the final weeks of the season with four Crystal Globe titles (overall, GS, downhill and super-G) within striking distance. No men’s team has achieved that feat since Austria’s Hermann Mayer won four games in two different seasons (1999/2000 and 2001/2002).

Odermatt has never competed in a World Cup slalom event and did not race Sunday.

American Ben Ritchie completed his second run of the men’s World Cup slalom at Aspen Mountain on Sunday.
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times

red, white, missing

Sunday’s slalom started relatively well for the Americans, with three of them making the second run of 30, but it ended with a somewhat shocking result.

The top American athlete was Jett Seymour of Steamboat Springs, who finished 25th, four seconds behind Maillard.th place.Ben Ritchie was 27 years oldth4.15 back, Luke Winters was unable to complete the second run.

Edwards’ River Radamas completed his first run on Sunday but did not qualify for a second run.He had a good weekend overall, finishing 11thth and 22n.d. with two giant slalom. His first career World Cup podium came just last weekend, when he finished third in the GS at Palisades Tahoe.

acolbert@aspentimes.com

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