After a successful start in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals week, we are now looking ahead to the tech events, with the last giant slaloms and slaloms of the season.
LADIES
If Frida Hansdotter secured the globe on the ladies‘ side, the giant slalom is still open, with two athletes who could potentially win the Cup standings.
Eva-Maria Brem (AUT) has finished in the top-8 in all the giant slalom races this season, winning in Courchevel on 20th December 2015 and Jasnà on 7th March 2016. She holds a 52-point lead over Viktoria Rebensburg (GER) going into the final giant slalom race of the season on Sunday (542-490). A fourth place finish (50 points) would enable Brem to claim her first ever crystal globe in her career. Brem finished second in the giant slalom standings behind her team-mate Anna Fenninger last season.
Frida Hansdotter became the fourth woman from Sweden to win the Slalom crystal globe, as the secured the title with a 10th place finish in Jasnà slalom. The 30-year-old has won only one World Cup Slalom race this season, winning in Lienz in December. The last woman to win the Slalom crystal globe with only one World Cup race win was Maria Höfl-Riesch (GER) in 2009/10.
Veronika Velez-Zuzulova (SVK, 546) and Wendy Holdener (SUI, 511) have the best shot at the two other podium spots. Sarka Strachova (CZE, 464) mathematically still has a chance to land on the podium.
MEN
On the men's side, both Cups have been secured in Kranjska Gora, with Marcel Hirscher claiming the giant slalom globe and Henrik Kristoffersen taking the slalom globe.
The giant slalom season has been very exciting, coined by two duels. At the beginning of the season, it was all about the GS Giants Ted Ligety and Marcel Hirscher, with an advantage for the Austrian who earned 3 wins before Christmas. As the season went on in February (Adelboden and Garmisch-Partenkirchen giant slaloms had to be cancelled), Frenchman Alexis Pinturault was uncatchable and took four wins in a row. In the decisive race, Marcel Hirscher skied at it’s best level and secured the discipline globe.
In slalom, two men set the pace and finished in first or second position 15 times (out of 18): it’s Henrik Kristoffersen and Marcel Hirscher. The younggun from Norway had his breakthrough this season and scored 6 wins this season! Therefore, he was leading the slalom standings almost throughout the season and secured the globe thanks to his second place in Kranjska Gora.
On Saturday, the ladies‘ slalom will be held at 08.30 / 11.00 CET and the men’s giant slalom at 09.30 / 12.00 CET. On Sunday, the decision will be made for the men’s slalom at 08.30 / 11.00 CET and the ladies‘ giant slalom at 09.30 / 12.00 CET.
Source: fis-ski.com
