Marco Schwarz of Austria in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, March 14, 2021. /Getty
The race for crystal globes heated up this weekend as favorites faltered and rivals piled on the pressure, with only Austria's Marco Schwarz managing to secure a trophy before the ski circuit travels to the Swiss resort of Lenzerheide for World Cup finals this week.
Going into the men's slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on Sunday, Schwarz had a 146-point lead on his nearest competitor, Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland. In a race plagued by heavy snow and poor visibility, the Swiss put in a strong performance to finish third after the first run, three places ahead of Schwarz, meaning the globe was still within reach.
The Austrian however skied a controlled second run – taking no risks and making sure he made it into the finish – and his seventh place, despite Zenhaeusern finishing in third, was enough to guarantee him the slalom crystal globe, with just one race to go before season's end.
This is a first World Cup trophy for the 25-year-old Schwarz, who was on the podium in seven out of 10 slaloms this season, winning twice. A slalom bronze medallist at world championships in Are in 2019, he has been in top form this season, also winning combined gold and giant slalom bronze in Cortina d'Ampezzo last month.
Clement Noel of France (C) lifts his prize after winning the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's slalom ahead of compatriot Victor Muffat-Jeandet (L) and Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland (R) in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, March 14, 2021. /Getty
Sunday's race finished with a two-way win for France, with Clement Noel scooping up his second World Cup win this year, ahead of compatriot Victor Muffat-Jeandet with his first World Cup slalom podium, and Zenhaeusern in third.
The French team however suffered a major disappointment as overall leader Alexis Pinturault straddled a gate in the second run and lost his chance to make any points in the race. Pinturault has been the top contender to win the overall globe for months but has seen his lead dwindle in recent weeks, with Switzerland's Marco Odermatt fast catching up with him.
On Saturday, the French skier already had to settle for fourth place in the giant slalom, while Odermatt stood on top of the podium. Just fourth after the first run, the Swiss charged down the hill in the second to finish more than a second ahead of compatriot Loic Meillard and Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner.
Odermatt's performance propelled him past Pinturault in the giant slalom standings and has him now just 31 points behind the Frenchman in the race for the overall trophy.
Mistimed acrobatics
On the women's side, one of this season's favorites, Petra Vlhova, also suffered a less than ideal weekend in Are, Sweden. It started well enough with the slalom on Friday: the fearless Slovak delivered two combative runs to win the race ahead of Austria's Katharina Liensberger and Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S.
Petra Vlhova of Slovakia takes first place in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's slalom in Are, Sweden, March 12, 2021. /Getty
The 100 points helped her overtake Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami, with whom she has been battling all season, in the overall standings and extend her lead for the slalom globe.
Hopes that she would be able to build on this in the second slalom on Saturday were dashed however when Vlhova made a massive mistake, almost flipped forward and was just able to recover her balance. Just 27th after the first run, she posted the fastest second run to claw her way back to eighth place. However, crucial points were lost.
Vlhova now has a 96-point lead on Gut-Behrami in the overall, but the speed specialist will be looking to take maximum points in the downhill and super-G this week and will have the advantage of skiing on home soil.
In the race for the slalom globe, Vlhova's challengers are also closing in. Liensberger, fresh from two world championship gold medals, proved unbeatable on Saturday and celebrated her first World Cup win ahead of Shiffrin and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland.
Liensberger is now just 22 points behind Vlhova, with Shiffrin another 15 points behind, meaning all three have a shot at the globe in the last race in Switzerland. Vlhova was already last season's slalom globe winner, while Shiffrin has six of the trophies at home.
Katharina Liensberger of Austria celebrates her first World Cup win in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's slalom in Are, Sweden, March 13, 2021. /Getty
Crunch time
So far, three globes have already been decided this season: Schwarz in the men's slalom, Gut-Behrami in the women's super-G and Italy's Marta Bassino in the women's giant slalom. All other crystal globes, including the sought-after overall globes will go down to the wire this week in Lenzerheide, where one last race will be held in each discipline.
Adding to the suspense is news that Italy's Sofia Goggia could race in Wednesday's downhill to secure the discipline's globe, just a month and a half after suffering a knee injury.
Goggia, having won four out of five races this season before her injury, still leads in the downhill standings, but Switzerland's Corinne Suter and Gut-Behrami are just 70 and 97 points behind, well within reach of the globe.
The Italian will take part in Tuesday's downhill training in Lenzerheide and will then assess whether to race on Wednesday, the Italian ski federation said in a statement.
Read more:
Italy's Bassino grabs giant slalom trophy
Freshly crowned ski world champ Gut-Behrami nabs super-G globe