Today it was the men’s turn for the Slalom World Cup in Levi, Finland. With 81 men at the start, there was a slew of contestants for the podium, but ultimately it was Lucas Braathen in 1st, followed by France’s Clément Noël (+0.31) in 2nd and Finland’s Eduard Hallberg (+0.57) in 3rd.
Slalom races are conducted in two runs, with the combined time determining the final standings. Only the fastest 30 skiers from Run 1 qualify for Run 2.
Run 1
Setting the pace on Levi Black was Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard, who opened the men’s race with a clean run of 55.45 seconds. His time was immediately put under pressure by Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath in bib 2, who crossed the line 0.36 seconds faster. But McGrath’s lead was short-lived—his teammate Timon Haugan stormed down the course and moved ahead by nearly half a second.
Then came their former teammate-turned-Brazilian starter Lucas Braathen. Wearing bib 4, Braathen displayed the sharp, confident skiing that had eluded him last season. With fluid transitions and barely a mistake, he claimed the lead by 0.49 seconds, setting a new benchmark for the field. Austria’s Fabio Gstrein (bib 5) couldn’t match the pace and finished behind McGrath, while last year’s winner, France’s Clément Noël, slotted neatly between Braathen and Haugan—just 0.08 seconds behind the Brazilian. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, the third Norwegian in the top group (or fourth, including Braathen), lacked his usual spark on Levi Black and finished ahead of Meillard but behind the leaders.
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With the top-seven bib group out of the start gate, major shakeups seemed unlikely. But Germany’s Linus Strasser in bib 8 proved otherwise. Fresh off a switch to HEAD, Strasser showed promising form and powered into fourth place behind Haugan. Great Britain’s Dave Ryding (bib 9) was unable to disrupt the standings, crossing the line 1.37 seconds behind Braathen.
Team USA’s top-seeded skier, Benjamin Ritchie (bib 17), opened strongly on the upper flats, but couldn’t maintain the aggression into the steep pitch. He finished run 1 in what was ultimately 20th place, safely inside the qualification group for Run 2.
One of the biggest roars of the morning came from the home crowd: Finland’s Eduard Hallberg in bib 29 delivered a sensational run, squeezing into the top five. Hallberg—who finished eighth on his World Cup debut in Levi last year—sent the Finnish fans into celebration mode, flags waving throughout the stadium.
USA’s Luke Winters in bib 46 had an unlucky first run as a loose slalom pole caused him to DNF. He was given a re-run but could not manage to qualify for run 2, finishing in 49th place.
After more than 50 ski racers had gone down the course, the number of DNFs started to increase. World Cup debutants Stanley Buzek (bib 63) and the UK’s Luca Carrick-Smith (bib 65) both recorded DNFs. They were far from alone: between bibs 60 and 70, seven skiers failed to finish as deep ruts made the course increasingly treacherous.
But the biggest surprise of Run 1 came late in the start list from Team USA. Cooper Puckett, wearing bib 69, produced a stunning run on the chewed-up surface, charging into 26th place—comfortably inside the top 30. His massive jump relative to bib number puts him firmly in contention for the Stifel Bibbo Award, presented to the World Cup athlete who climbs the most positions relative to their start number.
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Run 2
Opening run 2 was Switzerland’s Daniel Yule, who set the pace for run 2 at 56.48 seconds, indicating that the re-set course was possibly slower than run 1. Fourth starter Norway’s Eirik Solberg snatched the lead early on, beating Yule by 0.42 seconds, while fifth starter Cooper Puckett could not beat that time. However, it was still a celebration for the 22-year-old American as he collected his first career Slalom FIS World Cup points.
Austria’s Manuel Feller soon took over the lead from Solberg and managed to hang on to it for seven subsequent runners until his teammate Michael Matt took over his position in the leader’s seat. USA’s Benjamin Ritchie unfortunately straddled a slalom pole, meaning the end for his hunt for World Cup points—a disappointing end after a strong start to run 2. Matt’s lead was not long in the making, as an impressive run came from Team GB’s Laurie Taylor, who catapulted himself into the lead with a fantastic second run and a combined time that was 0.79 seconds ahead of Matt. Even his seasoned teammate Ryding failed to unseat him, and he got to enjoy the leader’s seat for an impressively long time as skier after skier failed to unseat him. Even high-ranked skiers like Henrik Kristoffersen, Loic Meillard, and Atle Lie McGrath failed to beat the Brit.
With only five skiers left, it was time for the home favorite, Eddie Hallberg, who snatched the lead from the Brit by 0.04 seconds, and the crowd went wild—a personal best for the 22-year-old. Fourth last skier Linus Strasser could not bring the form from run 1 and dropped down the ranks. Then it was third last, Timon Haugan, who was strong up the top, but a mistake on the top cost him some valuable milliseconds, and he finished 0.20 seconds behind Hallberg. The Finnish crowd was beside themselves: it was a Finnish podium—the first in the Helsinki-born skier’s career.
Second-last ski racer Clément Noël showed that Levi suits him, squeezing out 0.26 seconds on Hallberg and taking the lead.
Then all eyes turned to Lucas Braathen, and the crowd could hardly wait. Brathen attacked the course, was strong on the flat top section and swift on the steep mid-section, transitioned smoothly into the flat bottom, and snatched the victory with a 0.31-second lead on Noël. The first victory for Brazil in World Cup history! What a day! For Braathen, it was the goal he had worked towards.
