Alexander Steen Olsen held on to his first-run advantage to lead a Norwegian sweep of the podium at the season-opening men’s World Cup giant slalom on Sunday in Soelden, Austria, while Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and Marcel Hirscher made successful comebacks to the circuit.
Defending overall champion Marco Odermatt skied out in the opening run.
Holding a slim lead after the first run, Steen Olsen finished 0.64 seconds ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen and was 0.65 faster than Atle Lie McGrath.
“That is what we have been dreaming of, everybody on the podium,” Steen Olsen said.
Former slalom World Cup winner Pinheiro Braathen, who returned after one year off and a switch from the Norwegian to the Brazilian federation, started 41st and finished 0.90 behind in fourth after posting the fastest second-run time.
Austrian great Hirscher, who came out of retirement after five years to start for the Netherlands, trailed Steen Olsen by 2.16 seconds in 23rd position, after the record eight-time overall champion just qualified for the final run but then posted the third-fastest time.
Hirscher’s comeback drew a record number of spectators to the traditional World Cup opening weekend in Austria, with 33,000 fans in total attending Sunday’s event and the women’s race on Saturday, which was won by Federica Brignone.
Steen Olsen celebrated his third career podium, after winning a slalom in Palisades Tahoe, California, two seasons ago and finishing runner-up in a GS in Bansko, Bulgaria, in February.
“I feel like I’m learning from my mistakes last year. I’m not scared to grab the opportunity. I know my contenders went full speed down the hill, I just did give it my everything,” Steen Olsen said.
Odermatt, who dominated the GS discipline last season by winning nine of the 10 races, started the opening run strong in perfect sunny conditions on the Rettenbach glacier and posted the fastest split times at the first two check points.
However, he later suddenly lost control over his left ski and slid off the course.
“For sure, we are all humans and mistakes can happen. I took the risk today that this could happen,” Odermatt said.
“I was very satisfied with my skiing. Until there, I really felt perfect, so that is what I take with me, not the mistake.”
Odermatt’s Swiss teammate, Loic Meillard, who finished runner-up in the overall standings last season, didn’t start after hurting his back during a warmup shortly before the race.
Hirscher, wearing an orange-white race suit, had two consistent runs with no major mistakes until getting to the bottom part, where he lost considerable time.
“It was pretty good until midway through the steep, after that, I got too late on my race line and nearly slid off the course,” Hirscher told Austrian TV after the opening run.
“It was cool, it has worked out so well. About two seconds behind, that was also the case in training, so I’m really happy.”
