Wengen, Switzerland – The 86th Lauberhorn races in Wengen are in the books. After Kjetil Jansrud’s win in the alpine combined on Friday and Aksel Lund Svindal’s win in Saturday’s downhill, a third Norwegian, Henrik Kristoffersen, finished Sunday atop the slalom podium to complete the Norwegian sweep of the weekend.
It was the first time since 1968 that one nation won all three races in Wengen, with the Austrians being the last to pull off the rare feat.
Friday’s Combined
Norway took the top two steps of the combined podium on Friday with Kjetil Jansrud taking his first career World Cup combined victory, and Aksel Lund Svindal in second. France’s Adrien Theaux was third.
Jared Goldberg was the top-placed American in 12th, but like the rest of the U.S. Ski Team, he chalked this one up as another training run for Saturday’s main event.
“Today was a good day, just like another training run all the way down,” Goldberg said on Friday. “I felt good, I was charging out of the start. Overall, I skied balanced and I’m ready for the next one.”
For the rest of the Americans, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 22nd, Steven Nyman was 32nd and Tim Jitloff (Reno, Nev.) was 36th. Andrew Weibrecht and Park City’s Ted Ligety did not finish the slalom portion; however, Weibrecht was 17th in the downhill portion and Ligety was 38th.
Saturday’s Downhill
Svindal won the Audi FIS Ski World Cup downhill in dominating fashion through fog and flat light on Saturday’s weather-shortened course, which started from the combined downhill start. Austria’s Hannes Reichelt and Klaus Kroll were second and third, respectively.
For the Americans, Utah’s Steven Nyman finished 16th, Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was 21st, Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) 27th and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 30th. Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) was 34th, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 40th, and Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 42nd.
Nyman, who was 14th in the Lauberhorn last year, was well on his way to what could have been a top-10 finish before he was tossed around through Canadian Corner, and got back on his tails.
“We always have to focus on the positives,” Nyman said. “I had three very fast splits and two very slow splits. Today I got really bumped and went wide … but I was fast on the bottom, which I was happy with.”
The story of the day, though, was the fog and flat light as racers experienced numerous course holds, including France’s Guillermo Fayad (bib 22), who was held at the start after Ganong (bib 21) crossed the line in what he described as a dangerous race due to the poor visibility.
“Coming out of the tunnel, I couldn’t even see one gate ahead of me, nothing, zero … all I could see was the fence – zero visibility,” Ganong said. “It’s really unfortunate that Fayed and I had to deal with those conditions … its really not fair and it’s really dangerous. We had no chance on a day like today.”
Fortunately, the weather cooperated enough to allow all athletes an opportunity to race. But, as Nyman noted, changing weather conditions are all part of the sport.
“The early guys had good light, then I had flat light, but it was OK,” said Nyman, who started 14th. “Then the fog rolled in and it’s obviously an unfair race, but you just have to send it and hope for the best. I’ve taken advantage of good weather before. I won Gardena with good weather from the back.
“What was impressive was Klaus Kroll (bib 4), he had good light, but he hasn’t been skiing well for about two years now, and he’s on the podium,” Nyman added.
Sunday’s Slalom
“I had a pretty good feeling the whole way,” said Kristoffersen after winning Sunday’s slalom. “I pushed really hard both in the first and second run. It’s kind of tiring, but the feeling was good for sure.
“It’s a little strange for me too,” he admitted. “I’m a little surprised because I’m usually a little bit more of a technical skier, but I’m skiing pretty OK at the moment so I’m pretty happy.”
The new king of the slalom was followed by the Italian duo Giuliano Razzoli and Stefano Gross. Following a disappointing start to the season, the slalom gold medal winner from the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 finally laid down two strong runs and claimed the second position, +0.30 off Kristoffersen’s pace. With this podium, Razzoli now takes over sixth place in the season slalom ranking.
“It’s important because from the start of the season, I ski very well and very fast. I’m not lucky in Val d’Isere, fourth in Campiglio, mistake in Santa Caterina, and now I am on the podium. It’s important for this, I am very happy for my skiing and it’s OK for the next time,” said Razzoli.
It took 31 World Cup races, but Vermont’s Tim Kelley finally scored his first World Cup points on Sunday in front of his biggest fans.
“My parents flew over for this race, so it’s really special to finally be in the points,” Kelley said after finishing 12th. He credited his three years of college racing for the University of Vermont, where he was an NCAA First Team All American and 2011 NCAA Slalom Champion, for his solid result in Sunday’s Classic slalom race.
“I raced three years in college, and this was similar to a college set, a little more open than the typical World Cup set, and the terrain was a little flatter,” said Kelley, who last qualified for a second run in Adelboden last season, but straddled a gate. “I was just able to charge right from the start.”
David Chodounsky, of Crested Butte, Colo., finished 20th on Sunday, and could have placed even higher if it wasn’t for a blinding snow squall that moved through right before he started his second run.
“I hate making excuses, but I felt like I got completely hosed today,” said Chodounsky, who was 13th in the first run. “Everything was great, first run was good, I was confident, skis were working great, then on the second run, a squall came in and I couldn’t see anything on my way down.
“On this hill you have to generate speed on every single turn because it is so flat, and I just wasn’t able to do that on the second run,” he added.
The quick-moving snow squall also wreaked havoc with Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who trailed Svindal by 16 points in the overall World Cup standings coming into Sunday’s event. As heavy snow fell, Hirscher missed a gate halfway down the course, skied back up to round the gate, then continued his run only to miss another gate near the finish and ski off course.
Up Next
The Audi FIS Ski World Cup will now go on to the next classic World Cup stop in Kitzbuehel, where a super G, an alpine combined, a downhill and a slalom are scheduled this week.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
Lauberhorn Weekend – Wengen, Switzerland
Men’s Alpine Combined – Jan. 15, 2016
| Rank | Nation | Name | Downhill | Slalom | Total | Diff. |
| 1 | NOR | JANSRUD Kjetil | 1:49.00 | 48.61 | 2:37.61 | |
| 2 | NOR | SVINDAL Aksel Lund | 1:48.10 | 49.55 | 2:37.65 | +0.04 |
| 3 | FRA | THEAUX Adrien | 1:48.82 | 48.92 | 2:37.74 | +0.13 |
| 4 | FRA | MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas | 1:49.74 | 48.15 | 2:37.89 | +0.28 |
| 5 | ITA | PARIS Dominik | 1:49.44 | 48.66 | 2:38.10 | +0.49 |
| 6 | SUI | GISIN Marc | 1:49.80 | 48.79 | 2:38.59 | +0.98 |
| 7 | SLO | KOSI Klemen | 1:50.60 | 48.13 | 2:38.73 | +1.12 |
| 8 | AUT | BAUMANN Romed | 1:50.43 | 48.48 | 2:38.91 | +1.30 |
| 9 | AUT | KRIECHMAYR Vincent | 1:50.17 | 48.76 | 2:38.93 | +1.32 |
| 10 | ITA | FILL Peter | 1:49.50 | 49.49 | 2:38.99 | +1.38 |
Men’s Downhill – Jan. 16, 2016
| Rank | Nation | Name | Time | Diff. |
| 1 | NOR | SVINDAL Aksel Lund | 1:48.79 | |
| 2 | AUT | REICHELT Hannes | 1:48.98 | +0.19 |
| 3 | AUT | KROELL Klaus | 1:50.31 | +1.52 |
| 4 | ITA | PARIS Dominik | 1:50.36 | +1.57 |
| 5 | ITA | INNERHOFER Christof | 1:50.38 | +1.59 |
| 6 | FRA | POISSON David | 1:50.42 | +1.63 |
| 7 | FRA | THEAUX Adrien | 1:50.51 | +1.72 |
| 8 | SUI | JANKA Carlo | 1:50.58 | +1.79 |
| 9 | ITA | FILL Peter | 1:50.60 | +1.81 |
| 10 | AUT | FRANZ Max | 1:50.65 | +1.86 |
Men’s Slalom – Jan. 17, 2016
| Rank | Nation | Name | Run 1 | Run 2 | Time | Diff. |
| 1 | NOR | KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik | 47.89 | 49.96 | 1:37.85 | |
| 2 | ITA | RAZZOLI Giuliano | 48.05 | 50.10 | 1:38.15 | +0.30 |
| 3 | ITA | GROSS Stefano | 48.35 | 50.18 | 1:38.53 | +0.68 |
| 4 | SWE | BYGGMARK Jens | 48.97 | 49.57 | 1:38.54 | +0.69 |
| 5 | GER | NEUREUTHER Felix | 48.24 | 50.40 | 1:38.64 | +0.79 |
| 6 | FRA | PINTURAULT Alexis | 48.56 | 50.20 | 1:38.76 | +0.91 |
| 7 | FRA | GRANGE Jean-Baptiste | 48.30 | 50.47 | 1:38.77 | +0.92 |
| 7 | SWE | MYHRER Andre | 48.91 | 49.86 | 1:38.77 | +0.92 |
| 9 | NOR | FOSS-SOLEVAAG Sebastian | 48.91 | 49.97 | 1:38.88 | +1.03 |
| 10 | FRA | MUFFAT-JEANDET Victor | 48.63 | 50.40 | 1:39.03 | +1.18 |