Braathen Leads After First Run of Giant Slalom in Sölden

The first men’s giant slalom of the World Cup season in Sölden was once again fast-paced, tightly contested and full of surprises. After the first run, Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen led the race, having negotiated the challenging course better than anyone else. Loïc Meillard was 0.24 seconds behind him in second, while Stefan Brennsteiner was third, +0.49 back.

Just outside the top three were Marco Odermatt, Atle Lie McGrath, Fabian Gratz and Henrik Kristoffersen. Italy’s Giovanni Borsotti, who started only 29th, produced a surprise eighth-place result. Germany’s Alexander Schmid completed the first run in ninth. Marco Schwarz, meanwhile, who reached the podium in Sölden a year ago, failed to make it to the finish.

The second run promised an especially fierce battle: after the course was shortened, the results were exceptionally close. The start was moved significantly lower because of strong winds in the upper part of the slope. As a result, it was enough to be no more than 1.63 seconds behind the leader to qualify for the second run. At the same time, 12 athletes completed the first run less than a second behind Braathen.

Six alpine skiers who had started outside the top 30 made it through to the final run. Finland’s best slalom skier, Eduard Hallberg, took to the course wearing the very distant number 55. By then, ruts had already appeared on the slope, but the Finn coped with the conditions and finished 26th, +1.50 behind the leader.

English junior Freddie Carrick-Smith also made the most of his opportunity. The 19-year-old is contesting his first full World Cup season and, starting 46th, managed to take 21st place. Before today, he had competed in four World Cup races but had failed to finish any of them.

Giovanni Franzoni also completed the second run. He usually specialises in speed events but is now trying his hand at giant slalom. The Italian posted the 19th-fastest time in the first run, finishing 1.27 seconds behind Braathen.

Alpine Skiing World Cup, men. Sölden (Austria). Giant slalom. First-run results.

As in yesterday’s race, the weather could have affected the course of the competition. It had warmed up in Sölden: the temperature at the finish stadium had risen to +5°, the sky remained overcast, but there was no precipitation. Lucas Braathen’s coach set the second course. It featured 38 gates, with a vertical drop of 307 metres.

15:00. Germany’s Anton Grammel was the first to take to the course in the second run. His second run was two seconds faster than his first, while his combined time was 1:46.26.

15:01. Norway’s Rasmus Bakkevig qualified for the second run wearing number 49. He lost time on the steep section but managed to build up good speed before the finish. As a result, Bakkevig edged Grammel by eight hundredths of a second to take the lead.

15:01. France’s Alban Elezi Cannaferina started with virtually no margin and immediately entered the red. His speed was decent in the lower part of the course, but he was unable to make up ground on the run-out. The Frenchman finished third, 0.67 behind.

15:02. Switzerland’s Lenz Hächler began his run from 27th place after the first attempt. Today he started 43rd. The second course proved considerably more difficult for him: Hächler lost six tenths in the middle section and finished fourth, +0.68 back.

15:03. Eduard Hallberg is well known as one of the world’s strongest slalom skiers, but the Finn is also aiming for success in giant slalom. He was 34 hundredths behind at the intermediate split, but managed to maintain his speed and completed the run in third, 0.11 behind the leader.

15:07. Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler began the second run with a 20-hundredths advantage but nearly went off the course on the steep section. After that mistake he began to lose time and ultimately finished only fourth, +0.43.

15:08. Žan Kranjec has reached the podium in Sölden several times, but the Slovenian’s first run did not go to plan today — he was only 24th. His advantage quickly disappeared in the second run: before the run-out, Kranjec was already 19 hundredths behind. He was fourth in the lower section, +0.13. The results were gradually becoming ever tighter.

15:09. Léo Anguenot started ninth today, but the Frenchman had produced an unremarkable first run. This time, however, he was building a significant advantage: first 54 hundredths, then 60. Anguenot became the new leader, beating Bakkevig by 36 hundredths.

15:12. Norway’s Hans Grahl-Madsen qualified for the second run wearing number 40 and was in 21st place. On the steep section he lost his line and tried to climb back above the missed gates. This took more than seven seconds, ending his hopes of a high finish. Grahl-Madsen did make it to the finish, but lost 7.20 and will almost certainly remain last.

15:13. Freddie Carrick-Smith, who was 21st after the first run, negotiated the course with great confidence. The Englishman, who had started 46th, was challenging for third place and even reduced his deficit in the lower part of the course. He eventually finished second, +0.16. It was already clear that Carrick-Smith would score the first World Cup points of his career today.

15:14. Austria’s Raphael Haaser entered the battle for a high finish. During the run he was 14 hundredths behind Léo Anguenot, with the gap then narrowing to 13 hundredths. On the gentle run-out, the experienced Austrian managed to build up speed and moved ahead, beating the Frenchman by 24 hundredths.

15:15. Giovanni Franzoni was also in contention for a good result, but he was unable to fully master Sölden’s demanding turning course. The Italian was already 63 hundredths behind. On the straight before the finish, after the final ‘wave’, he failed to make the gate and went off the course. It was an especially frustrating mistake: Franzoni could have scored a decent haul of points.

15:16. Norway’s Oscar Andreas Sandvik began the second run from 18th place. He lost his balance on the steep section and then was unable to stop on the near-vertical slope. Sandvik lost a ski in the fall but appears to have avoided injury.

15:16. Austria’s Joshua Sturm was 17th after the first course. He negotiated the steep sector reliably enough but was unable to produce the necessary speed on the run-out. Sturm finished seventh, +0.72.

After half of the competitors had completed the second run, Raphael Haaser remained in the lead. Léo Anguenot was 24 hundredths behind him, while Freddie Carrick-Smith was third, +0.40 back.

15:20. American River Radamus started with a small advantage and immediately extended it. He negotiated the steep section very technically, leading by 45 hundredths there. Radamus slowed slightly at the bottom, but had enough in hand: he moved into first place, beating Haaser by four hundredths.

15:22. Austria’s Patrick Feurstein was 15th after the first run and had the same time as Radamus. In the second run he began to lose time: by the second split, his deficit had already reached half a second. At the finish, Feurstein was only fourth, +0.29.

15:23. Alex Vinatzer — Italy’s leading giant slalom skier — began his run with virtually no margin. He was six hundredths faster than Radamus and Feurstein. However, the Italian negotiated the steep sector without particular brilliance and was already 68 hundredths behind there. Vinatzer reduced the deficit on the run-out, overtook Anguenot and moved into third, +0.26. There were still 13 athletes to come, though, making a top-10 finish difficult to envisage.

15:25. Norway’s Eirik Hystad Solberg was battling for a high result. Everything went well at the start, with his deficit standing at nine hundredths. But in the middle of the course the Norwegian was already half a second behind. He again showed good speed on the run-out and finished fourth, +0.27, between Vinatzer and Anguenot.

The battle was exceptionally close: by this point, six alpine skiers were no more than 29 hundredths behind the leader.

15:27. Croatia’s Filip Zubčić lost a lot of time in the second section. After the turning course, his deficit approached a second, and he was unable to make up ground in the lower part of the course. The Croatian finished only 13th.

15:28. Belgium’s Sam Maes started with a 23-hundredths advantage. He had been 11th after the first run. Maes negotiated the steep section well, although not without a few minor errors. He lost speed on the run-out and completed the run only 14th, +0.90.

15:29. France’s Thibaut Favrot, who was fifth on this course a year ago, began the second run with a 25-hundredths advantage. He negotiated the most difficult sector uncertainly and was already more than a second behind during the run. Favrot reached the finish in eighth, +0.58.

Meanwhile, River Radamus had already climbed five places, while Raphael Haaser, who started after him, had gained nine.

15:31. Alexander Schmid had spent a long time fighting his way back after injury. The German had performed well in the first run and was ninth. However, nothing went right for him in the second run: Schmid lost considerable speed and was unable to make up ground on the run-out. His result was 16th place, +0.96.

The course was gradually breaking up, and positive temperatures had already settled in the lower part of the slope.

15:34. Giovanni Borsotti, who led off the top eight, had reached eighth place despite starting 29th, but his second run ended almost immediately. Borsotti caught an edge, flew past a gate, fell onto his side and went off the course.

15:35. Henrik Kristoffersen started on new skis with a 41-hundredths advantage. At the first split, the experienced Norwegian remained in the green, but then began attacking the steepest part of the course and lost time. His deficit grew to 61 hundredths, and things became even worse at the bottom: Kristoffersen finished only 17th, +1.02.

River Radamus still led the standings, Raphael Haaser was second and Alex Vinatzer third. The results remained incredibly close.

15:37. Germany’s Fabian Gratz began his run with a 46-hundredths advantage. He negotiated the steep sector better than many of his rivals: he did lose time there, but not by as much. At the finish, Gratz was third, +0.13, beating Vinatzer by 13 hundredths.

15:37. Atle Lie McGrath appeared in the starting gate. The Norwegian began with a half-second advantage. He had been third a year ago, but made a mistake while transitioning onto the steep section today and fell. McGrath lost his balance, fell onto his side and then knocked down a gate. There were no serious consequences, but his race was over.

15:40. One of the main favourites, Marco Odermatt, took to the course. The Swiss skier had been fourth after the first run, 55 hundredths behind Braathen. In the upper part, Odermatt extended his advantage to 72 hundredths, but then remained in the green and was 30 hundredths ahead.

Even allowing for the softened and rutted course, Odermatt appeared to have no equal in the lower section. He made a mistake too, but it did not prevent the Swiss from finishing 33 hundredths ahead of Radamus and taking the lead. Three athletes still had to race before the outcome was decided.

15:42. Stefan Brennsteiner was battling for a high finish on his home course. His advantage over Odermatt was just six hundredths. The Austrian lost significant time on the steep section, with his deficit growing to 0.78. In the lower part, Brennsteiner was no longer in podium contention: he finished ninth, +0.72.

Odermatt had meanwhile guaranteed himself a place on the podium. Radamus was second and Haaser third.

15:44. Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard, second after the first run, began with a 31-hundredths advantage. Some of it remained after the acceleration section, but the main task was to negotiate the steep sector cleanly. Meillard conceded a little to his team-mate but remained in contention for victory.

On the run-out, Loïc did what had seemed impossible: he negotiated the final section beautifully and overtook Odermatt. He finished one hundredth of a second ahead of his compatriot. The previous day, Molzan had beaten Colturi by one hundredth, and Sölden could see the same scenario repeated.

The decisive moment came when Lucas Pinheiro Braathen took to the course. The Brazilian had won the final two races of last year and now had the chance to start the new season with another victory. He did not adopt a cautious approach: during the run he extended his advantage to 34 hundredths, then increased it to 61.

Braathen was taking huge risks, but managed to stay in control and claim victory. For such a short course, his advantage was impressive: the Brazilian beat Loïc Meillard by 48 hundredths and Marco Odermatt by 49.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the first men’s giant slalom of the World Cup in Sölden. Loïc Meillard finished second and Marco Odermatt third. River Radamus, who had led in the middle of the second run, finished fourth, +0.82 behind.

Raphael Haaser climbed 15 places during the final run to finish fifth. Fabian Gratz took sixth, while Alex Vinatzer was seventh. Norway’s best performer was Eirik Hystad Solberg: starting 28th, he finished eighth.

Great Britain’s Freddie Carrick-Smith produced the 12th-fastest result in the very first race of his debut full season. The Englishman had started 46th and scored World Cup points for the first time in his career.

Alpine Skiing World Cup, men. Sölden (Austria). Giant slalom. Overall result after two runs.

• I — position;
• II — start number;
• III — first name, surname;
• IV — country;
• V — first-run result;
• VI — first-run position;
• VII — second-run result;
• VIII — second-run position;
• IX — progress;
• X — combined result after two runs;
• XI — gap to the leader.

After the competition, the World Cup takes a three-week break. The next races will take place in Levi on 14–15 November.

Photo: footage from the SRF Sport television channel.

14:33 25.10.26