Kostelic defies the daggers to ski straight and fast!
Croatian star, Ivica Kostelic put in a devastating display of slalom racing to win his tenth World Cup race in Wengen, his first classic and eighth slalom. On a day full of swinging fortunes and controversy, the Croatian won the first run, then had to deal with allegations that he had missed the last gate (along with Benni Raich) and then had to watch as Andre Myhrer held off the rest of the field in his attempt to win his second World Cup Slalom. World Cup leader Reini Herbst did enough to hold on to his lead in the World Cup by staying in third after the first run.
For a while it looked like Marcel Hirscher would recover some pride for the Austrians as he battled his way from twelfth after the first run to keep moving up the leadership board. An Austrian one two even looked a faint possibility at one stage as Pranger came down and slotted in behind Hirscher but still there were eight to go and Kostelic had a lead of almost one and a half seconds on Hirscher. Ligety and Neureuther failed to dislodge the rising star that is Marcel Hirscher but then using the crowd and skiing a great run, Silvan Zurbriggen found himself at the front. For a Swiss racer, winning at home is one of the best things, while Zurbriggen had felt the warmth of the crowd in the Super Combined, this was his speciality.
The lead did not last long and Benni Raich, another caught up in the “Last Gate” controversy, took his vengeance out on the course. While not quite as quick as the Swiss racer, it was enough to take a slim lead, three hundredths! Four to go.
Next up was Sweden’s Andre Myhrer. With the warming conditions giving a slightly grippier run, Myhrer made the most of things to lay down a time that placed him at the top of the pile. This had the crowds on their feet. With over eight and a half thousand people lining the course, three racers were left and one of four nations could win. Exciting stuff! Joint second after the first run was Reini Herbst, the current World Cup leader. With a third of second lead on Myhrer, Herbst could ill afford any major mistakes. Little ones crept in and the odd slide here and there saw the lead edge away. By the time he crossed the line, Herbst sensed that he would not win. The tell tale facial expressions gave way to acknowledgement to the crowd. Herbst was still in second with two racers to go.
France’s Julien Lizeroux was next down and this was a real disappointment for the winner last time out. Lizeroux has held the French heads high with the injury to JB Grange. With the same time as Herbst from the first run, this was almost knock out or head to head racing. Some rise to the challenge while others try too hard and mistakes creep in. For the Frenchman it was sadly the latter. Maybe the beard should come back! Lizeroux dropped into fourth with still Kostelic to come, no podium but maybe one for Raich – could Kostelic demonstrate his undoubted prowess in the slalom again?
If the worry over his knee injuries was there, it certainly did not show; if the concern that the allegations of missing the last gate would affect him, they did not show. Kostelic had a half second lead on Myhrer after the first run and while the Swede pulled some back it was not enough and Kostelic held on for a famous win.
Ivica Kostelic is never far from controversy in Wengen yet this time he proved to the World that he was on the correct side of the law. The Croatian put in a stunning first run time faster than any of the others and then came the devastating news that he and Benni Raich were to be disqualified for not passing correctly through the last gate! While the cameras whirred and rewound, eventually FIS were happy that both racers had correctly gone through the last gate. While many argued that it looked like both Kostelic and Raich had missed the last gate, Guenther Hujara, the race director from FIS was satisfied that it looked like they had only because both racers had gone straight and not turned after the gate: “It was an optical illusion,” he explained. For Kostelic the evidence looked even more damning as he had his outside hand down protecting him and not, as most other racers did, the inside!
So the first part of the Classic double header concludes with Kostelic taking the Slalom and the Austrian “Power Team” taking just one podium. Maybe it was no coincident that Hans Pum, Chief of the Austrian Team was in Maribor with the successful girl’s team. The Austrian ladies held one and two after the first run and when Marlies Schild straddled on the second run while comfortably ahead, Kathrin Zettel took the double win ahead of Tina Maze and Maria Riesch.
No British racing on Sunday though Chemmy did problem a solid performance on Saturday to place 23rd, this included taking the seventh best time on the second run. Despite both races showing British participation, neither Chemmy nor David Ryding started in their respective races.
Result from Wengen Slalom
Result from Maribor Slalom