Lucas Braathen took the Slalom Crystal Globe aged just 22 this season with an incredible spread of performances throughout the campaign.
Born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and a Brazilian mother, Braathen began racing at nine years of age, and after 13 years rising emphatically through the ranks, he has now achieved what he described as “his dream”.
With Brazilian heritage, as a child his dream was to become a professional footballer, where he learnt to be driven and work hard on his goals, using Ronaldinho as his inspiration, which he still does to this day.
It was in giant slalom where the young star first made his mark, in October 2020, Braathen achieved his first World Cup victory aged just 20 years old in Sölden, Austria. After lying fifth after the first run, the Norwegian conquered the steep and icy Rettenbach glacier to finish 0.06 seconds ahead of Marco Odermatt.
By achieving this breakthrough, it signaled his arrival as one of the top contenders on the World Cup stage. The win was a culmination of hard work and dedication and set the stage for Braathen to continue breaking waves in the world of alpine skiing.
Braathen, often known by his middle name ‘Pinheiro’ - meaning palm tree in Portuguese - achieved his maiden slalom victory in January 2022. A poor first run left him in 29th position, only just making the cut for the second run. He took advantage of the fresh snow conditions on the following leg and made history to come from so far back, while the likes of Manuel Feller and Henrik Kristoffersen suffered in the tough snow conditions.
This year he came back early from an appendicitis surgery to compete in the slalom World Championships in Courchevel, after the first run he was sat an impressive second place, tied with AJ Ginnis of Greece. In the second run, the young star had the crowd on its feet with a 0.93 second advantage on leader Kristofferson approaching the final sector, but errors creeping in at the bottom of the course relegated him to seventh position.
The performance was still a demonstration of the 22-year-old's determination and desire to win, to be able to turn up despite having his appendix removed just 17 days beforehand was impressive, but to be able to compete with the best in the world was incredible.
The battle for the Slalom Globe went down to the wire this season, with Braathen having to battle with his more experienced teammate Kristoffersen until the World Cup finals in Soldeu, Andorra. Despite huge pressure on young shoulders, Pinheiro skied brilliantly to finish second place behind Ramon Zenhäusern, with his Norwegian counterpart behind him in third position.
Much like the great Marcel Hirscher, who took his first slalom globe aged 21, going on to win five titles in the discipline, as well as three in giant slalom, Pinheiro boasts a direct, aggressive, and dynamic style. He is certainly destined for more success in alpine skiing.
Words Jack Feneley
Picture Zoom Agence