Another pretty historical day took place during these 2026 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals on the spectacular slope at Hafjell which hosted the memorable technical events of the 1994 Olympics.
Braathen claims GS globe after Odermatt exit
While local hero Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrated another amazing triumph on the course he knows so well since his childhood to capture the GS crystal globe after the rather surprising failure of favorite Marco Odermatt to get through the first run, USA's Mikaela Shiffrin set a new record in the specialty with her ninth slalom victory this winter. It also helped her to strongly increase her lead on Germany's Emma Aicher in the overall standings that she aims to clinch a sixth time.
A four-time consecutive winner of the giant slalom World Cup standings in recent years, Odermatt had a solid lead of 48 points on the reigning Olympic Champion before the race and a strong chance to prevail once more on the Hafjell run on which he was a solid 2nd behind his teammate Loic Meillard a year ago - and ahead of Pinheiro Braathen only 4th.
Starting with bib #1, the 2022 GS Olympic Champion put great pressure on himself and his skis to accomplish an excellent performance, but he eliminated himself in the upper part of his over aggressive run after losing his balance after a jump.
A decisive moment in the first run
Pinheiro Braathen, the recent winner at Kranjska Gora, in Slovenia, only needed a 4th place to take over lead in the specialty standings - yet he was fully focused on achieving once more his best possible runs. It's only after crossing the finish line in the first leg that he found out that Marco had skied out!
In the tense second run, Lucas truly behaved as a gutsy champion and fought once more hard to remain out of reach for his main rivals such as last year's winner Loic Meillard. A mistake could have cost him enough time to lose the globe against the Swiss slalom Olympic champion!
Yet, at the end of his nearly perfect second run, he nevertheless beat Loic by 58/100 of a second, while his good friend Atle Lie McGrath moved up to an excellent 3rd place.
Strong emotions for a historic achievement
"It's for sure a very special day for me and Brazil claiming another crystal globe here on this slope I know so well since younger years, I feel so strong emotions," Lucas explained afterwards. "It means so much for my team and my family which supported me so well since I decided to become a ski racer," he added.
"I remember discussing my goals with my dad when I was 11 and setting a precise career plan for the upcoming 10 years. To win a globe is the result of a longtime effort, it needs so much work to have a chance to fight for it, this is also what makes me so proud, "also said the 2023 slalom World Cup champion.
Slalom globe battle still open
In Sunday's slalom, Lucas will again be battling for the slalom globe with his friend and former teammate McGrath. Only 41 points separate them before their last decisive race. France's Clément Noël also has a theoretical chance to snatch the slalom globe despite his delay of 77 points.
110th wins for Shiffrin.
It was under a bright sunshine that Mikaela Shiffrin confirmed once more her amazing slalom form to enjoy her 110th World Cup victory beating by 1,32 seconds Swiss Wendy Holdener while her main rival for the overall globe Emma Aicher came in a strong 3rd at 1,36!
It helped her to increase her lead in the overall standings to 85 points before Wednesday's giant slalom. "It's not over before it's fully over, but for sure it looks better than I thought traveling to Norway last week," she told the press.
"I was expecting Emma to pass me after the speed events at Kvitfjell and force me to score big points here, but it came out duff
differently in my favor," Shiffrin also explained. "These are exciting Finals and it would be wonderful for me to grab another big globe after all my injuries and health issues in the past two years. To be fighting against a complete athlete as Emma who is so impressive in all specialties is pretty tough, so I remain cautious. You saw with Marco Odermatt today that everything can happen on a race course," the 30-year-old skier added.
"The key is to remain relaxed and ski fast!"
Aicher still in the overall fight
Aicher on her side is quite proud and thrilled to remain a contender for the overall title till the last day. "It's really amazing, I wouldn't have believed it in my wildest dreams a year ago, "the young German said." Giant slalom is not my best event so I can fully go for it and enjoy the day," she added. Emma is not reflecting about the numerous lost opportunities of scoring big pains in recent missed races as in Val di Fassa or Crans Montana where she skied out after taking too many risks." I like my way of enjoying racing hard and have fun, it's the best way to be fast for me," she said last week at Kvitfjell where she enjoyed her maiden win in downhill a year ago. "I like to ski fast and don't think about the points."
Scheib set for GS globe
Austria's GS expert Julia Scheib will be battling for her sixth win in the season. She is already secured to get the GS globe after the competition.
