Kristoffersen wins giant slalom as Hirscher equals Stenmark title haul

BANSKO, Bulgaria: World champion Henrik Kristoffersen won the giant slalom in Bansko, Bulgaria, on Sunday while Marcel Hirscher finished second to secure the World Cup crystal globe for the discipline, equalling the mark set by Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark

The Norwegian needed two committed runs to edge the Austrian world number one by just 0.04sec. It was his 17th World Cup victory but his since January 2018 in a slalom in Kitzbuehel.

“I try to be 100 per cent in every race,” said Kristoffersen, who also beat Hirscher in the giant slalom at the World Championships in Are, Sweden on February 15.

“As we saw at the Worlds, it’s possible but it’s complicated.”

Frenchman Thomas Fanara was third, 0.39sec back with his compatriot Alexis Pinturault, who is second to Hirscher in the giant slalom and overall standings, fourth at 0.49sec.

Hirscher was fastest in the first run and, even though a slip midway through the second cost him victory in the race, he was the day’s biggest winner.

Second place was enough to ensure his second small World Cup globe of the season, to follow the slalom title, and equal the 29-year-old record of 19 globes held by Stenmark.

Hirscher increased his lead in the overall standings to 490 points and is within touching distance of an eighth consecutive big globe.

“I really wanted to win today but I made a mistake and I’m happy because I could have been eliminated, I’ve made a giant leap in points, it’s starting to pile up,” Hirscher told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Next week, the slalom specialists, who once again dominate the overall standings, hand over to the speedsters at Kvitfjell in Norway before reassembling on 9-10 March in Kranjska Gora in Slovenia ahead of the World Cup finals in Andorra a week later. - AFP