French Olympic champion Clément Noël won the first leg of the Levi slalom, just ahead of Loic Meillard, while another Frenchman, Steven Amiez, took third place. The returning Marcel Hirscher and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, for their part, had a very different round.
His last World Cup victory dates back to January 2023, and Clément Noël does not intend to wait too long before returning to success. This Sunday, on the occasion of the first slalom of the season, in Levi in Finland, the Olympic champion of the discipline delivered an excellent first run and it is he who will close the starting gate for the second, around 1:30 p.m. French). In the fog, on hard snow and in a temperature of -4°C, the 27-year-old from Vosges, bib no. 3, made two small errors in the wall in the middle of the round, but the rest of his race was excellent. And this allowed him to be two hundredths ahead of the Swiss Loic Meillard.
This promises some nice suspense during the second round, hoping that Clément Noël does not break under the pressure, which has sometimes happened to him. But France will have a second chance for a podium, since Steven Amiez finished just 21 hundredths behind his compatriot, finishing third in the first round. The son of Sébastien (winner of the 1996 slalom World Cup), aged 26 and whose best result in the World Cup was a sixth place in Kitzbühel last January, can dream big!
Hirscher is torn, Pinheiro Braathen is torn
This first round also marked the great return to slalom of Marcel Hirscher and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, respectively in the colors of the Netherlands and Brazil, their mother's country. Hirscher, a former eight-time World Cup winner, retired since 2019, took 23rd place during the giant in Sölden three weeks ago, but in slalom, it was much harder.
Not yet adapted to the techniques and equipment of 2024, the legendary 35-year-old skier finished more than two and a half seconds from Christmas and will not see the second round. On the other hand, things went much better for Pinheiro Braathen (24), who retired a year ago following a conflict with the Norwegian Federation. The Brazilian finished tenth despite his big bib (33) and will be followed during the second round (kick-off at 1:00 p.m.).
WORLD CUP (M) / LEVI SLALOM (FINLAND)
Ranking of the 1st round – Sunday November 17, 2024
1- Clément Noël (FRA) in 59″67
2- Loïc Meillard (SUI) at 0″02
3- Steven Amiez (FRA) at 0″21
4- Linus Strasser (ALL) at 0″30
5- Dave Ryding (GBR) at 0″41
6- Tanguy Nef (SUI) at 0″48
7- Alexander Steen Olsen (DAN) à 0″57
8- Eduard Hallberg (FIN) at 0″60
9- Samuel Kolega (CRO) at 0″65
10- Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRE) at 0″86
…
Not qualified for the second round:
Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA),
Sam Maes (BEL), Luca Aerni (SUI), AJ Ginnis (GRE), Marcel Hirscher (PBS), Tommaso Sala (ITA)…
Abandons : Marc Rochat (SUI), Fabio Gstrein (AUT), Alex Vinatzer (ITA), Jett Seymour (USA), Paco Rassat (FRA), Hugo Desgrippes (FRA), Léo Anguenot (FRA)…
France
