Norway 1-2-3. Alexander Steen Olsen won the men’s season-opening giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier on Sunday in 2:09.50, 0.65 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen and 0.66 ahead of Atle Lie McGrath. It was the 23-year-old’s first World Cup GS win and his second World Cup win, after the Palisades Tahoe slalom in February 2023.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Steen OlsenNOR | NOR | 2:09.50 |
| 2 | Henrik KristoffersenNOR | NOR | +0.65 |
| 3 | Atle Lie McGrathNOR | NOR | +0.66 |
| 4 | Lucas Pinheiro BraathenBRA | BRA | +0.90 |
| 5 | Alex VinatzerITA | ITA | +1.10 |
| 23 | Marcel HirscherNED | NED | n/a |
The two returns
Hirscher, 23rd. Marcel Hirscher, winner of eight straight overall titles from 2012 to 2019, retired in 2019. He raced again on Sunday for the Netherlands, his mother’s country, and finished 23rd, more than two seconds behind Steen Olsen. He scored World Cup points in his first race in more than five years. He is not yet near the front.
Pinheiro Braathen, fourth. The 2022/23 slalom globe winner retired on the eve of this race weekend a year ago. On Sunday he started for Brazil, his mother’s country, and set the fastest second run. Only the three Norwegians beat him on combined time. His former teammates took the podium, and he was 0.24 off it.
Odermatt out
Marco Odermatt, the three-time defending overall champion, slipped at a turning gate in the first run and did not finish. In Sölden, the steep part of the Rettenbach course leaves almost no margin to correct a mistake on the edge. One slip and the race is over. It is a rare DNF for him in giant slalom.
Numbers
- 0.01: the gap between Kristoffersen and McGrath.
- 0.24: Pinheiro Braathen’s distance from the podium.
- 23rd: Hirscher’s result, in his first World Cup race since 2019.
The men’s slalom specialists go next to Levi.