Five wins, 12 podiums, 23 years old. Lucas Braathen, who won the World Cup slalom globe five months ago, announced his retirement on Friday, two days before the men’s season opener in Sölden. He posted a video to Instagram. He had told his Norwegian teammates the evening before.
The dispute
Braathen gave no official reason. The context is a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation over marketing rights. Braathen modelled for J. Lindeberg, a rival of the federation’s outfitter Helly Hansen, without permission, and had not paid the fine the federation imposed. He said the contract governing athletes’ marketing and sponsorship limited his ambitions, and described feeling “locked”.
What leaves with him
- Five World Cup wins and 12 podiums over five seasons, after his World Cup debut in 2018.
- First win: the Sölden giant slalom, 2020.
- 2022/23 slalom crystal globe, aged 22, despite missing races for appendix surgery.
- 2022/23 wins: Val d’Isère slalom, Alta Badia giant slalom, Adelboden slalom.
- Wengen slalom 2022, won after lying 29th following the first run.
- Kitzbühel slalom 2022: second, 0.38 behind Dave Ryding.
The sporting hole
Last season Norway’s technical team had the slalom globe winner in Braathen and the slalom world champion in Henrik Kristoffersen. He won in both slalom and giant slalom last season. In the 2022/23 finals in Soldeu he clinched the slalom globe ahead of Kristoffersen.
The Wengen result showed how he races: 29th to first in one run. In slalom most second runs are about protecting what you have. That one was not.
Five wins in five seasons is not a long career. It is enough to show what Norway and the slalom field lose: a 23-year-old who already holds a slalom globe.
The men’s opening giant slalom is scheduled for Sunday on the Rettenbach glacier, the race he won three years ago. The reigning slalom champion will not be in it.