Marcel Hirscher has finished his first round of the 2017/18 World Cup winter season on Saturday with twice the fastest time of the race. The 29-year-old ski superstar won the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora with a 1.66-second lead over the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen and 2.51-second lead over the Frenchman Alexis Pinturault – that’s how the Olympic race ended. It’s the total of 15. Bullet for deer.
Hirscher has now equalled five giant slalom balls with the American Ted Ligety. In front of him is the Swede Ingemar Stenmark with eight points and only seven balls (because once ex aequo). With 15 balls/victories Hirscher is still behind Stenmark (19 victories), the Swiss Pirmin Zurbriggen (16) and on a par with the Luxembourg Marc Girardelli (15) according to the database of the Ski World Association (FIS).
Hirscher won the overall World Cup after the 56th place. World Cup victory of his career 269 points ahead of Kristoffersen. If there are at least 200 after the slalom on Sunday, the seventh overall World Cup victory for Salzburg is not to be taken away, as Kristoffersen will only compete in the six races that are still to come, namely giant slalom and slalom at the final in Aare (Sweden).
“Kranjska Gora is one of my favorite places. It’s wonderful that ten years after my first-ever podium finish in the World Cup, I’m still on the podium here,”Hirscher said. The giant slalom ball means a lot to me, and I am very grateful for it,”Hirscher said, who went into the season after an ankle fracture with a training gap. He felt the pressure today and is happy that it worked out, he explained.
“I had a big mistake in the middle part, that’s life. I’ve tried it, I think it would have been a very good run,”Kristoffersen explained, taking his hat off to world champion and Olympic champion Hirscher,”Marcel is in his own league. It’s okay that he won the giant slalom ball, he’s the best giant slalom scorer.”