Loic Meillard closed a superb weekend in Aspen with his third podium and a victory in the Slalom. Linus Strasser finished in second place 0.89 seconds behind. Henrik Kristoffersen rounded up the podium 1.17 seconds off the pace.
After finishing in second position in the two Giant Slaloms held in Aspen Meillard achieved today his 5th podium and first win of the season. He is also his maiden win in the Slalom discipline in the World Cup. His two previous wins were in the Giant Slalom and the Parallel.
"Really cool, there are no other words. It's the perfect end to the weekend. Three times on the podium in three days, winning once. It was definitely a big fight, but in the end, I always say that I ski better when it's difficult. It's easier for me when the course setting is more difficult. I think in the end it was the trust that I built up again. It was difficult up until then, but now I can ski freely, and that’s what the result shows", Meillard said.
Linus Strasser improved from sixth place after the first run to second place and still has the chance of winning the Slalom Crystal Globe with
two Slalom races left on the calendar in Kranjska Gora and the World Cup Finals in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
"The second run wasn’t easy, but it never really is, but I got into the rhythm very well and I was able to push in the right places. The chance of winning the small Crystal Globe is only still theoretically there," Strasser said.
Henrik Kristoffersen achieved today his third podium of the season, the second one in Slalom. Kristoffersen, with 52 podiums, including 23 wins in this discipline, is in fourth position in the ranking of most podiums in Slalom. Only three other men have won more podium finishes in World Cup Slalom events than Kristoffersen: Ingemar Stenmark (81), Marcel Hirscher (65), and Alberto Tomba (57).
"Of course, I wanted to win myself, but when I don’t win it’s good to see a guy like Loic and a skier like Loic win, his first slalom win, he’s been fast for many years. I’m already starting to look forward to next season because with the changes we’re working on, I think the possibilities are greater for next year", Kristoffersen said.
Manuel Feller finished in 5th position and is one step closer to his first Crystal Globe with 635 points. Linus Strasser (466) is now 169 points behind with two races left in the season. Feller finished inside the Top-5 in all nine Men's World Cup Slalom events this season, including four victories in Gurgl, Adelboden, Wengen, and Palisades Tahoe.