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Meillard finally gets to top, wins Aspen World Cup slalom for third podium of weekend

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Austin Colbert
  

Loic Meillard of Switzerland screams in triumph after winning the men's World Cup slalom on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Aspen Mountain. He had finished second to countryman Marco Odermatt in both giant slalom races the two days prior. Odermatt did not compete in the slalom.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt stole the show the first two days of the Aspen World Cup, winning both giant slaloms, but it was his teammate, Loic Meillard, who came up large in the Winternational finale.

In tough winter conditions, the 27-year-old Meillard won Sunday’s slalom after back-to-back runner-up finishes to Odermatt, giving the Swiss team a clean sweep of the three races.

“The momentum I’ve been building up maybe the last races, it all came together,” Meillard said after Sunday’s race on Aspen Mountain. “It takes energy, it takes focus, and definitely today it was a long slalom run. Difficult to ski, so that makes it even a bit harder, because you have to go deep in your body to take it. And when you have a good race, everything is OK.”

The second-to-last to enter the start gate for Run 2 on Sunday, Meillard stormed onto the podium and left little doubt. His two-run time of 1 minute, 42.73 seconds cleared second place Linus Strasser of Germany by 0.89 seconds, while third place Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway finished 1.17 seconds back of Meillard.

In first after a run was France’s Clement Noel, but he straddled a gate on his second run — he was the last athlete on course — and did not finish.


Race winner Loic Meillard of Switzerland competes in his second run in the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
A Swiss flag is waved after the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

In fourth was Austria’s Johannes Strolz, 1.28 back, and in fifth was Austria’s Manuel Feller, 1.35 back of first. Feller is the favorite to win the slalom crystal globe this season and had a chance to clinch it on Sunday, but was unable to do so. Still, he owns a comfortable 169-point lead on second-placed Strasser with only two slalom races remaining. It would be a first discipline title for Feller.

For Strasser, it was a career-best fourth podium of the season. He won Austrian slaloms in both Kitzbuhel and Schladming back in January.

“It’s not common sense to be on the podium. You have to work hard for it. I try to enjoy it as much as I can,” Strasser said. “The course was pretty much the same like first run, just a bit more speed, more fluent. I watched some guys and made myself a plan on how to ski and it worked out pretty good.”

Germany’s Linus Strasser competes in his second run in the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain. He finished second.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Announcer Chris “Uncle E” Ernst gives out a yell while sitting with the fans during the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

This was Meillard’s third career World Cup win, and first this season. His other two wins came in a GS last season, and in a parallel giant slalom in 2020. He now has 19 career World Cup podiums.

Meillard currently is third in the season-long standings in both slalom and GS, as well as the overall.

“Special weekend,” said Meillard, who added three of those podiums to his resume only this past weekend in Aspen. “Before the first run I told myself, ‘OK, only two runs to push,’ and after the first run I said, ‘One more run. One more run to push.’ And then the weekend is over and you can rest a bit, and that’s what I did.”

Committed to ski racing

After two nearly perfect weather days on Friday and Saturday — minus some gusty winds on Saturday afternoon — Sunday’s slalom seemed unlikely to happen as a strong winter storm made its way to the area Saturday evening. Yet, somehow, the winds backed off during the afternoon Sunday and the snow remained manageable, allowing the slalom to go on as planned with only an hour delay to start.

What people didn’t see were all the workers who helped clear the course well before the sun had even risen on Sunday morning.

“The race crew boarded the lift at 3 a.m.,” Aspen Skiing Co. executive John Rigney said during Sunday’s awards presentation. “I haven’t been up at 3 a.m. since I was 22. And then a truck load of other people (came) and shoveled off that thing, this thing, and every (thing) from the base, down. So, give those guys a hand.”

Longtime Aspen World Cup Chief of Race Jim Hancock says an emotional few words to the crowd after the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain. After more than two decades in the role, and even more working the Aspen races, Hancock is retiring.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Rigney also made sure to point out Jim Hancock, who has been chief of race for the Aspen World Cups since 1998 and has worked all races since 1981. Hancock is retiring and this year’s World Cup was his swan song.

Hancock didn’t have much to say after Sunday’s slalom, but like Rigney was impressed by the effort put in to make the race happen in challenging weather.

“When I got here at 2 o’clock this morning, I probably gave us about a 2 percent chance of doing this,” Hancock said. “And thanks to hundreds of people, it was an amazing effort, and we had this race. I can’t believe it. That’s all I have to say.”

From left, Germany’s Linus Strasser (second), Switzerland’s Loic Meillard (first), and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen (third) stand on the men’s World Cup slalom podium on Sunday at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Chasing down Stenmark

Odermatt, who locked up his third straight overall crystal globe last weekend in Palisades Tahoe, won both giant slaloms in Aspen. They were his 11th and 12th consecutive GS wins; only the Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark has more in a single discipline (14, GS).

Odermatt heads into the final few weeks of the season within striking distance of winning four crystal globes (overall, GS, downhill, super-G). Nobody has accomplished that feat on the men’s side since Austria’s Hermann Maier won four in two different seasons (1999/2000 and 2001/2002).

Odermatt has never competed in a World Cup slalom and did not race on Sunday.

American Ben Ritchie reaches the bottom of his second run in the men’s World Cup slalom on Sunday at Aspen Mountain.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Red, white and missing in action

While Sunday’s slalom started relatively well for the Americans, getting three into the 30-man second run, it ended with a bit of a thud.

The top U.S. finisher was Jett Seymour of Steamboat Springs, who was four seconds back of Meillard in 25th place. Ben Ritchie was 27th, 4.15 back, and Luke Winters did not finish his second run.

River Radamus of Edwards did complete his first run on Sunday, but did not qualify for a second. He had a strong weekend overall, finishing 11th and 22nd in the two giant slaloms. His first career World Cup podium came only last weekend, when he was third in a GS at Palisades Tahoe.

acolbert@aspentimes.com

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