Lucas Pinheiro Braathen Wins Alpine Ski World Cup Slalom in Levi
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen continued his impressive start to the 2026-2027 Alpine Ski World Cup season by winning the first Slalom event of the winter in Levi. This victory followed his Giant Slalom win in Soelden. In 2025, Pinheiro Braathen also triumphed in the Slalom season opener in Levi, marking Brazil's first-ever victory in the Alpine Ski World Cup. He is the first male skier to achieve back-to-back wins in the Levi Black event. No other skier before Braathen had ever won both races at Sölden and Levi.
Furthermore, he is the first skier to win the first two races of the season in the Men’s category since 2004, when Bode Miller triumphed in the Giant Slalom at Sölden and, subsequently, in the Downhill at Lake Louise.
Leading after the first run thanks to a dream run on the icy slope, Pinheiro Braathen skied tactically through the steep section and without mistakes in the second run to secure his 10th World Cup victory, the fifth in the Slalom.
"I'm very happy; this is a special place for me. I celebrated Brazil's first World Cup victory here a year ago. If I can make history, that's really, really cool for me. It's an honor. Hopefully, I can do it again next year," Pinheiro said.
“Next week I’ll be in Gurgl, and I’ll try to do it all again. It’s going to be a tough race, and I’m going to draw on the confidence today has given me. I know where I stand, and I’ll take that confidence into the next race,” he added.
Clément Noël secured second place again, finishing 0.56 seconds behind. The 2022 Olympic Champion is the most successful French World Cup Slalom skier, with 34 podium finishes to his name, including 15 wins.
"Lucas has been much better than me today, but it’s going to be a long season, and I hope it’ll be a good battle. Last year he won here by a considerable margin, and then Atle went on to win the Crystal Globe, so the season really is a long one. We all know there are plenty of contenders. I just hope to be among the best this season. I’m trying to ski as fast as possible, and I’m not going to focus on anyone in particular,” said Nöel.
Loïc Meillard finished third, 0.73 seconds behind the leader. This marks his 39th podium in the Alpine Ski World Cup. Two years ago, the Swiss skier also secured third place in Levi. It's his second podium finish of the season. In October 25th he achieved his first podium finish in Sölden.
“Finishing on the podium in the first two races is a new experience for me. So it’s a case of carrying on working hard. Lucas is very strong, so we need to find ways to close the gap. I was also skiing for my sister Mélanie, who, unfortunately, is currently sitting on the sofa. It pains me because I know how much effort she’s put in this summer; she’s never been in such good shape as she is now. The podium is, without a doubt, for her,” Meillard said.
Swedish skier Gustav Wissting has made history today by qualifying for the second run with the highest bib number ever (82) in the men’s World Cup slalom event held in Levi. He ultimately finished 17th.
It was a sad day for the Austrian team, which suffered a bitter defeat. It was the Austrian Ski Federation’s worst result in a slalom event since Alta Badia 2006, when no Austrian skier managed to qualify for the second run. The most unfortunate skier was Joshua Sturm. After surprisingly finishing third with bib number 27 in the first run, he failed to complete the second. Only Johannes Strolz was able to finish the race in 22nd place, 3.33 seconds behind.
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