Stefan Brennsteiner Claims First Alpine Ski World Cup Victory in the Giant Slalom in Copper Mountain

The Alpine Ski World Cup Giant Slalom in Copper Mountain brought another first-time winner. After 77 starts, 34-year-old Stefan Brennsteiner achieved his first World Cup triumph in the second Giant Slalom of the season in Colorado. Thanks to a superb first run, he beat Henrik Kristoffersen by just 0.95 seconds. Croatian Filip Zubcic rounded up the podium in third place, 1.00 seconds off the pace.

Brennsteiner has previously achieved four World Cup podium finishes in the Giant Slalom discipline: third place in Bansko in February 2021, third place in Kranjska Gora in March 2021, second place in Kranjska Gora in March 2022, and third place in Val d'Isère in December 2024.

It was another successful day for the Austrian team. Marco Schwarz came fourth, missing out on his second podium finish of the season by just two hundredths of a second.

For top favourite Marco Odermatt, the race ended in the first run. The Swiss skier, who won the Giant Slalom season opener in Soelden and the Super-G in Copper Mountain on Friday, slid off the course after posting the fastest second intermediate time following an error involving his inside ski. This was Odermatt's first DNF in the World Cup since the Giant Slalom in Beaver Creek last December.