Noël also wins the second slalom of the season – Meillard comes fifth

Clément Noël also wins the second slalom of the World Cup winter in Gurgl. The Frenchman prevails ahead of Kristoffer Jakobsen and Atle Lie McGrath. Loïc Meillard narrowly missed the podium.

He’s not his old self yet, Loïc Meillard’s back. The tear in the disc cover that he sustained while preparing for the start of the World Cup in Sölden is still bothering the 28-year-old a month later. It is important to take care of him, including in the week after Levi’s podium finish. Meillard has adjusted his training schedule accordingly; he only completed one session on the Diavolezza glacier last week. Your back is too cramped after riding when you’ve cooled down. However, it doesn’t affect him in the races

Meillard is catching up

The Neuchâtel native’s performance on Sunday was nevertheless remarkable. Although not in the first run, in which he had to struggle with set-up problems and lost a lot of time in 14th place. But definitely in the second round, which he completed with the second best running time. For a long time, Meillard was even able to flirt with the second podium within seven days. Ultimately, in fifth place, he was 17 hundredths short of third place.

While Meillard spoke to SRF about a “catastrophic feeling” after the first run, things sounded different after the second run. “The start was really good, much better than in the first run.” The problems on the steep slope remained, but he really picked up speed again in the last section. “It was a step in the right direction,” he emphasized. When asked about the back, Meillard said: “In general, I only need a little training. The routine certainly helps.”

Yule and Nef experiment

Daniel Yule also felt better on the skis in the second run. The Valaisian jumped from 21st to 13th place and attributed this to a change in material at halftime. «I chose last year’s setup. I liked that better. I was able to build up speed and power in the swing.”

However, Tanguy Nef, who wanted to improve on his best result of his career (5th place) in Gurgl, made a mistake. In the first run, a mistake shortly before the flat section prevented him from achieving an even better placement than 9th place. In the second run, the Genevan finally finished in 22nd place. «We decided on a softer ski. But that felt weird. It was a long way down.”

Noël dominates

Clément Noël was once again unbeatable. The 27-year-old Frenchman impressively demonstrated his early form in the second slalom of the winter and doubled after Levi’s dominant triumph in Gurgl. In the first run, the Olympic champion had no problems at all with the icy slope, and in the second run he managed his lead skillfully. «It was a big fight today. The conditions were difficult,” he said. “I had a bad feeling on the slopes and after a few mistakes I really wasn’t sure whether that would be enough to win.”

It was enough. In the end, Noël had a reserve of 43 and 44 hundredths respectively over Kristoffer Jakobsen and Atle Lie McGrath. For the second-placed Swede it was the fourth podium finish of his career, the Norwegian climbed onto the podium for the tenth time, for the second time this winter after third place in the giant slalom in Sölden.

Hirscher struggles

The Austrians were among those defeated after their triple triumph last year. Fabio Gstrein was Team Austria’s best in ninth place. Manuel Feller is still stuck. Last year’s winner and winner of the small crystal ball for the best slalom skier last season was eliminated for the third time in the third race of the winter.

The demanding slope claimed further prominent victims in the first run. The two returnees Lucas Braathen and Marcel Hirscher also didn’t make it to the finish. While it was the first disappointment after the comeback for the neo-Brazilian, Hirscher experienced another setback after he was unable to qualify for the second run in Levi in ​​46th place. “I’m not even mad, it’s a sequel to Levi,” said the Salzburger, who is starting for the Netherlands, to ORF. «So I’m out of place. That’s no fun.” The next three weeks are important. He has to see that things get better quickly. (sda)

While the bottom of the table can defeat the city dwellers, Geneva can narrowly prevail against Langnau. You can find all of Friday’s hockey results here.

SC Bern was in the lead for more than half of the game against HC Davos, but ultimately suffered their fourth home defeat of the season with 3:6. 95 brilliant seconds from HC Davos showed SCB the way to defeat. Matej Stransky equalized on a power play in the 38th minute.