Adelboden Alpine Ski World Cup Races Preview

After the race in Madonna di Campiglio, the Men’s tour heads to Adelboden, Switzerland, for a Giant Slalom race on Saturday, followed by a Slalom on Sunday.

Around 25,000 enthusiastic ski fans will cheer along the course and in the finish stadium at the Alpine Ski World Cup weekend in Adelboden as the world's best skiers compete on the legendary Chuenisbärgli.

Adelboden is a Swiss Alpine village in the Bernese Oberland region. It’s known for the ski resort of Adelboden-Lenk, host of the FIS Ski World Cup. Adelboden-Lenk is one of Switzerland's largest and most attractive snow sports regions. 72 high-performance lift facilities provide access to a piste network of just over 210 kilometers.

The Alpine Ski World Cup Adelboden on the Chuenisbärgli Mountain will occur on Saturday with the Giant Slalom and Sunday with the Slalom. The event is officially recognized as one of the "Swiss Top Sport" events, and one of Switzerland's fourteen foremost sporting attractions. Adelboden is also part of the Club 5+ Alpine Classics, a union of the leading alpine ski race organizers worldwide. It was founded in 1988, based on the idea of World Cup founder and sports journalist Serge Lang. Charter members had been the "Five Downhill classic sites in the Alps", Gardena/Gröden (ITA), Garmisch (GER), Kitzbühel (AUT), Wengen (SUI), Val d’Isere (FRA).

Adelboden, Wengen, and Kitzbühel are the only venues that have been part of the World Cup circuit since its foundation in 1967.

Adelboden's World Cup Hill "Chuenisbärgli" is one of the classics of the Ski World Cup and the home of the world’s most challenging Giant Slalom run. In the Zielhang section, the extreme steepness (60%) of the track is a challenge even for the best in the world.

Racecourse facts:

• Start Elevation: 1730 m (Giant Slalom), 1513 (Slalom)

• Finish Elevation: 1310 m (Giant Slalom), 1302 (Slalom)

• Vertical Drop: 420 m (Giant Slalom), 211 (Slalom)

• Distance: 1290 m (Giant Slalom), 622 (Slalom)

• Max. slope: 60 %

• Average slope: 30%

69th International Adelboden World Cup Races (SUI)

January 11th Slalom / Men 10:30 CET 1st run 13:30 CET 2nd run

January 12th Giant Slalom / Men 10:30 CET 1st run 13:30 CET 2nd run

Austrian Marcel Hirscher won nine times in Adelboden (5 Slalom and 4 Giant Slalom).

In 2019 the Giant Slalom in Adelboden was a super exciting race, full of goosebumps moments with Marcel Hirscher at the end grabbing a 4th win in this discipline on the Chuenisbärgli ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen and Thomas Fanara.

On January 13, 2019, the Slalom showdown from Adelboden took place under continuous snowfall but whatever the conditions, Marcel Hirscher mastered the Chuenisbärgli once again. He took his 9th World Cup win in Adelboden ahead of Clément Noel and Henrik Kristoffersen.

Ingemar Stenmark holds the record in the Giant Slalom with five victories in Adelboden. Marcel Hirscher follows with four and a sextet with three victories: Hermann Maier, Benjamin Raich, Gustav Thöni, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Alexis Pinturault, and Marco Odermatt.

Last season Marco Odermatt outclassed again the competition to achieve his third consecutive victory in Adelboden.

Odermatt impressively underlined his dominance in the Giant Slalom at the classic race in the Chuenisbärgli. The 26-year-old Swiss has won the Giant Slalom World Cup in Adelboden in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Ingemar Stenmark (four times between 1979 and 1982) and Hermann Maier (three between 1998 and 2001) are the only skiers to have won three or more consecutive Giant Slalom races in Adelboden. Marcel Hirscher also achieved the hat trick in Slalom from 2012 to 2014.

Alexis Pinturault has won the Giant Slalom in Adelboden three times, in 2017 and twice in 2021.

Last season Manuel Feller won a thrilling Slalom race in Adelboden beating Atle Lie McGrath by a mere 0.02 seconds. Feller's teammate Dominik Raschner finished in third position +0.23 seconds behind.