Ski racer Alexander Schmid narrowly missed the hoped-for top 10 result at the World Cup giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
When the Swiss Thomas Tumler won, the parallel world champion from Fischen took twelfth place. Schmid, who was repeatedly set back by physical problems, qualified for the final of the top 30 in 13th place in the first round.
“It’s a really cool slope,” said Schmid: “The second round was a little further in terms of course setting, I made sure that I skied cleanly, let the ski go and still attacked. I can build on that.”
Fabian Gratz (Altenau) came 19th and achieved the best World Cup result of his career to date. So far, a 24th place (Alta Badia/2022) had been his top performance. None of the other starters from the German Ski Association (DSV) made it into the top 20. Stefan Luitz (Bolsterlang) came 22nd, Jonas Stockinger (Herzogsreut) 24th. Anton Grammel (Kressbronn) was eliminated early in the first run.
Gratz had “a lot of fun” and it was “extremely cool” to drive in Beaver Creek. “The snow is just a bit different than in Europe. I’m happy with the performance. All in all, I managed the necessary attack in the second round.”
Tumler celebrated his first World Cup victory in his 124th start, and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen also made history. The 24-year-old, who is racing for Brazil after a year off and saying goodbye to the Norwegian association, gave the South American country its first-ever podium place by finishing second (+0.12 seconds). Zan Kranjec from Slovenia came third in the race in the US state of Colorado (+0.58).
The Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt was also eliminated from the second giant slalom of the winter, and in the second round it was over for the overall World Cup winner after a few goals.