Loïc Meillard races to the podium in the slalom in Levi after recovering from a back injury. He finishes third behind Clément Noel and Henrik Kristoffersen. They are followed by the Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and Tanguy Nef.
Meillard laid the foundations for his magnificent return after days of pain and unanswered questions in the first run, in which he took second place behind Noël by just two hundredths of a second. Just as important for him as his performance was the realization that he was able to complete the two runs free again.
There was no sign of the disc problems that forced Meillard to miss out on the giant slalom in Sölden three weeks ago during his first competitive run of the winter. Meillard could already feel that his health was back on track during the course of the week. On Friday, he finally decided to take part in Levi.
Tanguy Nef better than ever before
In the far north, a second Swiss had reason to be happy. After two disappointing winters, Tanguy Nef surprised everyone with 5th place, which equals his best result in the World Cup. The man from Geneva had previously finished 6th twice. The last time he finished in the top ten was almost three years ago. In January 2022, he finished 10th in the classic race in Schladming.
Disappointments for Yule, Rochat, Zenhäusern and Aerni
Ramon Zenhäusern and Daniel Yule had hoped for more from the slalom opener. The two men from Valais finished 20th and 22nd in the final classification. Luca Aerni missed out on qualifying for the second run, as did World Cup debutant Reto Mächler and returnee Marcel Hirscher. Marc Rochat was eliminated in the first run.
Noël managed to do what he had failed to do five years ago in the last World Cup slalom in Levi. He was able to successfully defend his lead after half of the race. Back then, he had to give way to Kristoffersen. It was Olympic champion Noël's eleventh full success in the World Cup.
A big slap in the face for the Austrians
The Austrians were also among the losers. The best classified representative of Ski Austria was Adrian Pertl in 15th place.
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#Preview
Ski stars before the start of the season
