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Feller improved eleven places in the second round with the second best running time and was able to look forward to his first position on the podium since Soldeu in March 2019 in the first slalom of the season. Black, who was 10th after the first race, climbed to third place, just 0.12 seconds behind Zenhäusern. The latter, also eighth at halftime, could look forward to his second success in a special slalom after the one in Zagreb in March 2019 after two victories at the Stockholm City Event.
The top three also benefited from the top trio’s relapse in the decision. Halftime leading South Tyrol local hero Alex Vinatzer had to settle for fourth place seven hundredths behind Black, while Swiss Daniel Yule, who was initially second, finished in seventh in the final standings. Mario Matt, who was the third best Austrian after the first race, also fell back. After the second round, the Tyrolean was just behind Adrian Pertl in 15th place.
Feller is back
Feller was able to look forward to a successful first slalom after his spinal disc problems and thus as a small winner. The Tyrolean had already shown himself in the first round with start number 26 on the deteriorated slope with 13th place and improved again in the second round. “There he is again,” Feller yelled into the television microphones after temporarily replacing Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen, who improved from 29 to 13 in race two, as the favorite.
The joy and relief of the successful start of the slalom could be seen in Feller’s eyes shining with tears in the ORF interview. “It is almost hard to believe, a satisfaction. I would have been happy with fifth place. It’s almost hard to believe, the most emotional moment of my career. The last season in particular was incredibly exhausting and painful, “said the 28-year-old with a cracking voice:” The whole summer was very hard and marked by pain. I hope this is a break up. Every day is a new day. “
1. Ramon Zenhäusern (SUI)
2. Manuel Feller (NEITHER)
3. Black Frame (NEITHER)
Boost for the team
Black was also pleased with the podium, especially after the mediocre results so far in the giant slalom. “That is brutally cool. I knew he was in a good mood in the slalom, and being on the podium with Manuel (Feller, note) in the first race, is a great Christmas gift, ”said Carinthian, who was positive after the opening of the Cup of the world. had been tested for the coronavirus, “the set-up worked well and I drove well. If it attacks, errors can occur. But the gap was not that great. “
Pertl, who climbed six places to 15th place, and Christoph Hirschbühl, who went from 25th to 22nd place, were also satisfied with the improvement in their classification in the only sixth slalom of the Alta Badia Great Laughter. For Fabio Gstrein, however, things went in the other direction. The Tyrolean came close to losing the decision after a 14th place at halftime and finished in 21st immediately before Hirschbühl. “That will definitely give the team a rebound,” third-ranked Black said of the team’s result.
Zen houses speeding to victory
The race to catch up with the winning Zen houses wasn’t bad either with seven well-made spots. “Simply impressive. After the first round, everyone was very close, pure emotion. So there was only one strategy: at full throttle,” said the 28-year-old Swiss six-footer. “I was also very happy with last season, and I was also a bit unlucky. I was also nervous, after a break of almost eleven months you can do a lot of things wrong. It’s much better that it worked today, “says Zenhäusern.
The Swiss already had a chance to claim his third victory in a special slalom on Tuesday. At Madonna di Campiglio, the next contest is already scheduled under the spotlight (5:45 pm or 8:45 pm, live on ORF 1). Recently, the classic was firmly in the hands of the Swiss. In 2018 and 2019, the winner was Daniel Yule. The last Austrian winner so far was Marcel Hirscher three years ago, by the way, before ten houses also the last winner of a slalom in Alta Badia to date.
