Loïc Meillard places fifth in the slalom in Gurgl thanks to a strong 2nd run. The winner is once again Clement Noël. The Frenchman also wins the second slalom of the season after Levi.
After the Austrian triple triumph at the premiere last year, the French flag was raised in Gurgl this year. Clément Noël impressively demonstrated his self-confidence and early form in the second slalom of the winter. The Frenchman, who won in Levi, had no problems at all with the icy slope in the first run and skillfully managed his large lead in the second run. In the end, the Olympic champion had a lead of 43 and 44 hundredths respectively over Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen and Norway's Atle Lie McGrath.
17 hundredths off the podium for Meillard
Like a week ago, Loïc Meillard was the best Swiss racer. In the first run, the third-placed skier from Levi did not have the right set-up. In the second run, the 28-year-old advanced from 14th place to 5th place with the second-best run time. In the end, he was just 17 hundredths off McGrath. Daniel Yule also showed an appealing second run after a subdued first. The man from Valais improved by eight places to 13th.
Nef, Aerni and Zenhäusern finish in the points
After the best result of his career in Levi (5th), Tanguy Nef missed out on a possible top 10 classification in Gurgl with mistakes in the lower section of the course. Luca Aerni finished in 24th place, while Ramon Zenhäusern also scored a World Cup point in 30th place.
Marc Rochat was eliminated in the first run. It was the second retirement in a row for the number 9 in the slalom rankings last winter. Manuel Feller had a zero for the third time in the third race of the season. Last year, he launched his run for the small crystal globe with victory in Gurgl. Now he dropped out after an impressive first intermediate time.
Prominent victims in the 1st run
The challenging slope claimed further prominent victims in the first run. The two returnees Lucas Braathen and Marcel Hirscher did not make it to the finish either. While it was the first disappointment for the neo-Brazilian after his comeback, it was another setback for Hirscher after he failed to qualify for the second run in Levi in 46th place.
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24.11.2024 11:50
Intermediate conclusion
Despite not skiing flawlessly, Tanguy Nef is classified as the best Swiss in 9th intermediate place. The man from Geneva thus confirms his good form - in Levi he achieved the best result of his career with 5th place. He lost 1.45 seconds on Noël. Loïc Meillard, third in Levi, is not really getting going and is only in 13th place after half the stint. Daniel Yule and Luca Aerni are 17th and 18th. Ramon Zenhäusern is 2.75 seconds behind and has to worry about qualifying for the second run. Marc Rochat is eliminated as he was in Levi.
