The men’s slalom World Cup in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on Sunday, March 8, produced one of the closest finishes of the entire season, with the top five racers separated by less than a tenth of a second after two runs on the steep Podkoren slope.
Just weeks after heartbreak at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath delivered redemption in dramatic fashion, winning the race by just 0.01 seconds over teammate Henrik Kristoffersen. Former teammate-turned Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen completed the podium in third as the margins between the best slalom skiers in the world proved almost impossibly small. McGrath won by a mere millisecond, while Braathen was only 0.05 seconds behind his long-time friend McGrath.
Run 1
Clement Noël opened the race in bib 1, setting the time for the course with 49.01. He was promptly outskied by Lucas Braathen, in bib 2, who crossed the finish 0.61 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. Norwegian Timon Haugan recorded an unfortunate DNF, while Kristoffersen slotted in 0.39 seconds behind Braathen. Switzerland’s Loic Meillard in bib 5 was the next top-ranked skier with a DNF.
Then came McGrath in bib 6, who laid down a smooth and aggressive line to clock 48.23 seconds, putting himself 0.17 seconds ahead of Braathen.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s Armand Marchant produced a stunning performance from bib 13 to move into third place +0.55 off the lead.
The incredible depth of the men’s slalom field this season was once again evident with the top 10 racers separated by less than one second, with Germany’s Linus Strasser rounding out the top ten 0.93 seconds off McGrath’s time. This left a long list of podium contenders. In addition, many athletes were vying for a World Cup Final invite.
For the United States, Ben Ritchie led the charge in 20th place, followed by Jett Seymour in 24th. Unfortunately, Luke Winters and Cooper Puckett both skied out and did not finish the first run.
Run 2
The second run turned into a survival test. While there was only one DNF—which came from the very unfortunate 3rd-ranked Marchant—the course deteriorated quickly under sunshine, meaning that racers starting early had full advantage of better snow conditions. The fastest two runs of the second leg were set by the first two racers out of the gate — Austria’s Dominik Raschner (30th after run one) and France’s Augustin Aulnette (29th).
Their times told the story of the worsening conditions. Raschner posted the fastest run of 48.47 seconds, which was actually slower than McGrath’s time from run 1, however McGrath’s second run was more than 2 seconds slower than Raschner’s time, showing just how much the surface had degraded.
Those early performances proved incredibly valuable for the early starters. Raschner’s strong second run catapulted him all the way up the leaderboard into seventh place. Skier after skier gave back the entire lead from run 1 on the top section of the Podkoren race course. Team USA’s Ritchie and Seymour managed to improve their ranks from run 1 by, bumping up into 19th and 20th place and earning them valuable FIS points.
Things started to heat up as the top 10 from run 1 entred the gates. Strasser put himself into the lead with a combined time of 1:38.94 but was promptly undercut by 0.03 seconds by Austria’s Michael Matt. Matt sat in the leader’s seat and watched with wide eyes as skier after skier failed to topple him. Switzerland’s Tanguy Nef fell 0.44 seconds behind, France’s Noël was close but ended 0.06 seconds behind, giving up his entire lead on the top section of the course. Likewise his teammate Paco Rassat dropped 0.33 seconds behind Matt, whose podium dreams must have started to form when teammate Fabio Gstrein fell a massie 0.72 seconds behind.
But then came the last three skiers and they demonstrated the Norwegian dominance in slalom skiing in perfect form. Kristoffersen lost some of his 0.35 lead on Matt from run 1 but managed to hang on to 0.05 seconds, which put him in the lead. Next up was former Norwegian, now Brazilian, Braathen, who was strong on the top section and was ahead of Kristoffersen where everyone had struggled. But the Brazilian lost his speed on the bottom, falling 0.03 seconds behind his rival. A big disappointment for Braathen, who had claimed victory in Giant Slalom yesterday. There was no samba in the finish line today.
Then came McGrath and it did not even keep Kristoffersen in the leader’s seat, as he got up to watch his teammate. McGrath certainly managed to keep the tension until the very last second. Slower on the top section, faster on the next, slower on the third section, the light kept flickering between red and green and he snatched the victory by 0.01 second. Kristoffersen could only laugh—it was a big hug from his best friend Braathen.
- Related: Lucas Braathen Wins Giant Slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, and Heats up the Crystal Globe Chase
For McGrath, the razor-thin win marked a powerful comeback after his Olympic disappointment—and delivered one of the most dramatic slalom finishes of the entire World Cup season. More importantly, with today’s victory, he puts himself firmly in the lead in the 2025-26 season slalom standings. McGrath leads with 552 points—41 points ahead of Braathen. He sits 77 points ahead of Noël and 99 points ahead of Kristoffersen. While it does not secure him the slalom crystal globe, it certainly puts the odds in his favor. All four of these men are still with a chance of winning the globe. McGrath needs to place third if Braathen won at the finals. Braathen could pip him if he won and he placed off the podium. Meanwhile, Kristoffersen is still in with a chance, provided he wins at the finals in Lillehammer, Norway, and McGrath records a DNF. It is all still wide open and promises to be an exciting last race at the World Cup Finals in two weeks.
