Brennsteiner Leads Tight Copper GS as Six Skiers Stay Within a Second

Stefan Brennsteiner Copper Cup GS / GEPA footage

Brennsteiner leads tight Copper GS after first run

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colorado — Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner turned bib 1 into the first-run lead in Friday’s males’s Stifel Copper Cup big slalom, setting the usual on an ideal early-race floor and holding it by a protracted, punishing morning at altitude.

Brennsteiner’s 1:13.27 stood up all over the ultimate starter. Slovenia’s Žan Kranjec is second at 0.26 again, with Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler third at 0.48. By the tip of the run, solely six racers sat inside a second of Brennsteiner’s time, shaping a decent combat for the win this afternoon.

Elite group units the tone — and Odermatt goes out

The elite seven starters outlined the highest of the board. Brennsteiner opened with a strong, flowing run, backed by the day’s greatest closing sector. Kranjec attacked from the highest and stayed shut all the way in which, dropping only a contact of time within the closing sector. Tumler accomplished the early prime three with a robust center part that stored him inside half a second.

“It was okay. I don’t assume I’ve discovered the very best setup for this snow but, however I’m pleased with the primary run,” Tumler stated. “You want extra energy and extra stress on this floor, and the elevation actually hits after the third break up, however I managed to take it to the end.” — Thomas Tumler

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen sits fourth at 0.76, adopted by Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen at 0.80 and Austria’s Raphael Haaser at 0.83. Haaser, in his first season on Atomic, is the one racer outdoors the opening seven bibs to complete inside a second of Brennsteiner.

The largest shock got here from Thursday’s super-G winner, Marco Odermatt. The Swiss star separated himself from the sector by the primary two sections, then misplaced grip on his left ski within the third break up, dropped to his hip, and slid out. For the second straight season he failed to complete the second big slalom of the winter, each instances in Colorado.

“It was a basic inside-ski mistake,” Odermatt stated. “On this snow you need to ski very clean and clear on each skis, not simply the skin one. You carry errors for some time since you don’t need to do them once more, but it surely’s only a race — s*** occurs — and subsequent week there are three extra probabilities.” — Marco Odermatt

Second-seed skiers shut the gaps

The subsequent wave of starters pushed arduous to problem the early order. Haaser’s 0.83 deficit made him the one racer past bib 7 to affix the group inside a second of Brennsteiner.

Germany’s Anton Grammel produced one of many runs of the morning from bib 19, sliding into eighth at 1.02 off the lead. Austria’s Marco Schwarz (ninth, +1.03) and Patrick Feurstein (tenth, +1.04) stored the Austrian block robust, whereas Alexis Pinturault (eleventh, +1.14) and Thibaut Favrot (twelfth, +1.40) gave France stable depth simply outdoors the quickest group.

After 30 racers, the sample was set: solely six males — Brennsteiner, Kranjec, Tumler, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, Kristoffersen, and Haaser — had been inside one second of the lead.

Altitude punishes errors

The brand new Copper Mountain GS monitor just isn’t particularly lengthy, however the elevation made each error costly. Instances ran longer than Thursday’s super-G, and lots of racers misplaced huge chunks of time within the third and fourth sectors as fatigue constructed.

Certainly one of Norway’s younger stars, Atle Lie McGrath, skied solidly by the primary two sections earlier than a serious mistake within the third. He crossed 3.78 seconds again and won’t return for the second run, including to a troublesome morning for a Norwegian squad that additionally misplaced Timon Haugan to a DNF. Kristoffersen, fifth at 0.80, is Norway’s lone frontrunner after the primary run.

North People: Radamus in 14th, Learn flips from deep

For North America, the main focus is on two skiers: native favourite River Radamus and impartial Canadian veteran Erik Learn.

Radamus, the one North American starter inside the primary 30 bibs, carried confidence from Thursday’s super-G however couldn’t fairly match the easiest instances. He completed 14th at 1.52 off Brennsteiner, dropping most of his time within the center splits however delivering one of many day’s stronger closing sectors. The Stifel U.S. Ski Staff racer will likely be disenchanted with the hole but stays properly positioned to assault within the afternoon.

Learn, racing with bib 46, turned expertise and clear snowboarding into one other high-quality World Cup efficiency. The College of Denver graduate crossed twenty sixth at 2.38 off the lead, a wonderful end result from deep within the subject and one of many key late-bib tales of the morning.

“It felt clean, and generally when it’s clean you’re unsure it’s quick,” Learn stated. “On this snow the objective is to remain dynamic and clear all the way in which, and I did that. Now it’s about recovering and carrying that confidence into the second run.” — Erik Learn

Excessive-bib qualifiers: 5 males from bib 31 and better

5 racers beginning with bib 31 or greater certified for the second run, led by an aggressive cost from Austria’s Joshua Sturm:

twenty first — Joshua Sturm (AUT), bib 52, +2.09

twenty fifth — Eirik Hystad Solberg (NOR), bib 32, +2.35

twenty sixth — Erik Learn (CAN), bib 46, +2.38

twenty eighth — Loevan Parand (FRA), bib 50, +2.57

twenty ninth — Albert Ortega-Fornesa (ESP), bib 38, +2.81

Sturm was each the quickest and the highest-numbered bib among the many above-bib 30 qualifiers, turning 52 into twenty first place with a strong, dedicated run.

Tight combat forward

After one run, Austria holds 4 males within the prime 10 and two within the prime six, but the race stays broad open. Six racers are inside a second of Brennsteiner, a number of confirmed winners lurk simply behind, and a hungry pack of high-bib qualifiers — together with Sturm, Solberg, Learn, Parand, and Ortega-Fornesa — will throw all the pieces on the second run.

At altitude on Copper’s demanding GS monitor, with mixed instances deciding the end result, nothing will likely be sure till the ultimate racer crosses the road this afternoon.