Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins the slalom in Levi and makes history with Brazil’s first World Cup victory. Linus Straßer awarded a top placement in the second round.
Ski racer Linus Straßer knew that after changing supplier it might take some time before he was competitive again. It is all the more astonishing that the 33-year-old from TSV 1860 Munich in Levi was in an excellent fourth place after the first run. But in the final round the tactic no longer worked. Straßer fell back to 15th place.
Braathen triumphs in “Levi de Janeiro”
After two runs he was 1.51 seconds behind the winner. And his name is: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. The native Norwegian, who is now in his second year driving for Brazil, was in the lead after the first round and defended it in the final ahead of Olympic champion Clément Noel from France (+ 0.31 seconds) and the surprise third, the Finn Eduard Hallberg (+ 0.57).
For Braathen it was already the sixth World Cup victory of his career. For Brazil, his mother’s home country, the first ever in the history of the Alpine Ski World Cup.
Finland celebrates Eduard Hallberg
Braathen literally danced through the forest of poles in both runs – the 25-year-old stood light-footed and confident on the boards. In the finish area it was Samba in Lapland – “Levi de Janeiro” in Finland! But the Finnish spectators also had fun: Eduard Hallberg, a Finn, had once again made it onto the podium for many years, and he did so with start number 29. In the final, Hallberg not only overtook Linus Straßer, but also the Norwegian Timon Haugan, who was also rated higher and who was still in third place after the first run. A little sensation.
DSV trio misses the second round
Some of the favorites had a hard time in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees. Slalom World Cup winner Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway only achieved a disappointing 13th place (+1.47). The Austrians Manuel Feller and Mario Gstrein also clearly missed the podium in tenth and eleventh place.
And the other Germans? Sebastian Holzmann (SC Oberstdorf) was unable to qualify for round two in his comeback after a torn cruciate ligament, 2.84 seconds behind Braathen, as were Anton Tremmel (SC Rottach-Egern/+ 2.38) and Dominik Zerhoch (SC Partenkirchen/+ 4.55) in his first ever World Cup race. Grammel was the closest, but in 34th place he missed qualifying for the final by just 0.23 seconds.
Source: BR24Sport on the radio November 16, 2025 – 1:00 p.m
