Hector ended a prolonged drought, Schiffrin tied with Moser Brühl

Sweden’s Sarah Hector turned out to win yesterday in the second giant slalom in Courchevel, France. The 29-year-old celebrated her first concert in Kühtai almost seven years ago. It was the first-ever World Cup victory for a Swedish skier since Frieda Hansdotter’s victory in the slalom in January 2017 in Flachau. Michaela Shiffrin was also happy with her second place after winning the previous day. The best Austrian was Ramona Seppenhofer in seventh place.
“It was a fight with the head and all, very tough, but I made it through,” said Hector, who also prevented Shiffrin’s third giant flip of the season.
With second place, the 72-time World Cup winner extended her lead in the overall standings over Italian Sofia Goggia (who was eliminated on Tuesday) to 115 points. Having secured 114th place on the podium, she is now No. 4 on the list of the best women’s World Cup with Austrian skiing legend Annemarie Moser Bruhl.
There was also a lot of effort among the ÖSV athletes, especially in the second round in difficult downhill conditions. “The second round was a very tough fight. I tip my hats off to what the top three conjured up,” said Seppenhofer.
Stephanie Brunner also reached the top ten in ninth place (+1.71), and Katrina Troup landed directly in eleventh place (+2.21). There were also points for Elisa Morzinger (19) of Altenfeld.

Noel fell in front of the last gate

On the other hand, the slalom Austrian men’s team suffered a serious bankruptcy in the last race before Christmas. After the failures of Manuel Villier and Marco Schwartz, Michael Matt finished 20th best Austrian in the Classic Spotlight Tournament at Madonna Di Campiglio on Wednesday night. The victory went to Sebastien Voss-Sulliage after Frenchman Clement Noel fell in front of the last goal.
It wasn’t the French who were at their peak who won the traditional slalom in Italy, but the world champion from Norway. Noel was already ahead in the final, but then had to hit the ground shortly before the finish line. “Maybe I thought it was over,” Noel said. “This is a ski race.”
At the ÖSV camp, there was grief over the unfamiliar conditions after the disaster – this was Madonna’s historical worst performance ever. “We mainly trained on ice, so maybe that was a mistake,” said Andreas Poulcher, racing director. On the slope of Canalone Miramonte, the snow has changed with aggressive and attractive trails. With Feller and Schwartz, the strongest of the wave was kicked out in the first round.