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Lucas Braathen (20) won the World Cup opener in Sölden and earned his first World Cup victory in his career. Now former world champion Tom Stiansen believes that Braathen can be as great as Henrik Kristoffersen.
– Yes! Lucas Braathen screamed and thumped his chest as he drove into the lead from his sixth place, five hundredths ahead of Marco Odermatt in the second half.
But he was very even on the list after the first half and was only 24 hundredths until Gino Caviezel, who led after the first half. Thus, there were opportunities to get on the podium for the Norwegian. And the emotional outburst after he ran into leadership was just the beginning of the party.
Driver after driver, including greats like Alexis Pinturault and Henrik Kristoffersen, failed to catch up with 20-year-old Braathen, who climbed the list of results.
And in the end, only the Swiss Caviezel was left at the top who was able to stop Braathen’s first victory. But he couldn’t beat the strong push from the Norwegian either. It was therefore the first World Cup victory for the new shooting star in the Norwegian Alpine, Braathen, in the opening of the World Cup in giant slalom.
And it has also made a name for itself in the past:
– I knew I was able to get on the podium. The victory in the first race of the season is incredible, says Braathen in the interview with FIS after the victory.
He stressed that he is strong mentally and was able to perform well under pressure. He also referred to himself as “next” when he impressed in the slalom race at Kitzbühel last season. Last year, he scored 284 points in the World Cup. With Sunday’s victory, he has already scored 100 points.
And many are impressed by the youngster, who finished fourth in the slalom race in Kitzbühel last winter. But the victory is a big step forward in his career.
HUGE JOY: Lucas Braathen after the victory at the opening of the World Cup in Sölden. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP
Former world slalom champion Tom Stiansen believes that victory is just the beginning of a great career.
– Not many have won the World Cup race at the age of twenty. He’s in a very famous company, says Stiansen and mentions several of the all-time mountaineers.
– Henrik is the best we’ve had in recent years. But Braathen said in an interview in Kitzbühel last year that “I’m next” and he meant what he saw. I think he will probably have a career just as fantastic as Henrik’s, Stiansen tells VG.
– I think this is just the beginning of a great career, says Stiansen.
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And this is not nonsense to which Braathen is compared. Henrik Kristoffersen has won World Cup gold in giant slalom and has dominated slalom at the level of greats that only Alberto Tomba and Ingemark Stenmark have done, back in the 2016 season. This led Stenmark to say that Kristoffersen was the greatest talent he had ever seen.
Stiansen believes that it is especially Braathen’s fearless attitude towards trails and competitors that makes him stand out. He is convinced that the victory is not a hoax on Braathen’s part.
– There is something incredibly crude and rude about it. It is simply maintaining a lack of respect for the tracks and the competitors. Not thinking too much is a great advantage in alpine skiing. I do not think it does. The fact that the breakthrough season continues with this says a lot about their future, says Stiansen, who notes that many achieve some of the best results, but then struggle to stay consistent at the top.
5TH PLACE: Henrik Kristoffersen during the first round where he drove to the third fastest time. Photo: CHRISTIAN BRUNA / EPA
Three Norwegians were in the top ten before the final round of the giant slalom race in Sölden. And the Norwegians followed in the second half also alongside Braathen, who is known for his new responses:
Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen was number eight. Henrik Kristoffersen went on the defensive in the second half. In the end, he finished fifth after finishing third after the first round.
