Lucas Braathen wins World Cup giant slalom for the first time
The Brazilian first won the opening run, then put in an excellent second run, won the race and secured the World Cup giant slalom title - for the first time in his career and for the first time under the Brazilian flag. In 2023, he won the World Cup slalom title.
"It's incredible! The giant slalom globe is special to me," Braathen said. "Marco was unbeatable in giant slalom and incredibly consistent. It is a great honour for me to compete with him for this trophy," added the 25-year-old alpine skier, who previously competed for Norway.
Lucas has a good chance of adding another globe to his collection of awards - the final World Cup title of the season will be decided in slalom tomorrow in Hafjell. The Brazilian trails his friend Atle Lie McGrath by 41 points in the race for this trophy.
Odermatt cleared the way for Braathen to win the globe. The overall World Cup winner had already secured two "Small Crystal Globes" - in downhill and super-G. This season, Marco has won three giant slalom races and finished in the top six in every giant slalom since the race at Copper Mountain at the end of November, where he went off the piste. But today he suffered a setback.
"I wanted to show a good result once again and not rely on luck. I took a risk, and it did not pay off," said the 28-year-old athlete. He confirmed that he will not abandon giant slalom next season, as he hopes to win a medal at the home World Championships and plans to challenge for the World Cup giant slalom title again.
Alpine Skiing World Cup (men). Lillehammer (Norway)
Giant slalom. Final result after two runs.
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lucas Pinheiro Braathen | Brazil | 1:11.24 | 1 | 1:09.41 | 8 | ◄ | 2:20.65 | +0.00 |
| 2 | 7 | Loïc Meillard | Switzerland | +0.63 | 3 | -0.05 | 6 | 1▲ | 2:21.23 | +0.58 |
| 3 | 5 | Atle Lie McGrath | Norway | +0.97 | 5 | -0.10 | 3 | 2▲ | 2:21.52 | +0.87 |
| 4 | 2 | Stefan Brennsteiner | Austria | +0.21 | 2 | +0.67 | 16 | 2▼ | 2:21.53 | +0.88 |
| 5 | 15 | Timon Haugan | Norway | +1.42 | 7 | -0.43 | 1 | 2▲ | 2:21.64 | +0.99 |
| 6 | 12 | Sam Maes | Belgium | +1.51 | 8 | +0.27 | 13 | 2▲ | 2:22.43 | +1.78 |
| 7 | 24 | Joshua Sturm | Austria | +1.93 | 11 | -0.05 | 6 | 4▲ | 2:22.53 | +1.88 |
| 7 | 21 | Anton Grammel | Germany | +1.98 | 12 | -0.10 | 3 | 5▲ | 2:22.53 | +1.88 |
| 9 | 6 | Marco Schwarz | Austria | +1.22 | 6 | +0.74 | 17 | 3▼ | 2:22.61 | +1.96 |
| 10 | 10 | Fabian Gratz | Germany | +0.77 | 4 | +1.60 | 21 | 6▼ | 2:23.02 | +2.37 |
I - place, II - start number, III - first name, surname, IV - country, V - first-run result, VI - first-run place, VII - second-run result, VIII - second-run place, IX - progress, X - result after two runs, XI - gap to the leader
| Giant slalom standings (men) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (Brazil) | 547 | |
| 2 | Marco Odermatt (Switzerland) | 495 | -52 |
| 3 | Loïc Meillard (Switzerland) | 486 | -61 |
| 4 | Stefan Brennsteiner (Austria) | 431 | -116 |
| 5 | Marco Schwarz (Austria) | 339 | -208 |
This is Braathen's first World Cup title under the Brazilian flag. In 2023, Lucas won the World Cup slalom title while competing for Norway. Braathen will finish this season in second place in the overall standings and may also win the "Small Crystal Globe" in slalom.
| Overall standings (men) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Odermatt (Switzerland) | 1626 | |
| 2 | Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (Brazil) | 1058 | -568 |
| 3 | Atle Lie McGrath (Norway) | 904 | -722 |
| 4 | Loïc Meillard (Switzerland) | 843 | -783 |
| 5 | Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway) | 771 | -855 |