Swiss one-two at Obereggen European Cup

Swiss one-two at Obereggen European Cup

Switzerland’s double triumph in the prestigious European Cup slalom in Obereggen: Reto Schmidiger wins ahead of his compatriot Matthias Iten. The two Swiss, 31 and 24 years old, on the challenging Maierl slope tamed the young Scandinavian talents: From third to sixth place were 21-year-old Norwegian Eirik Hystad Solberg, 19-year-old Swedish Fabian Ax Swartz, 20-year-old Norwegian Hans Grahl-Madsen and 22-year-old Finnish Jesper Pohjolainen. 

Reto Schmidiger è the first Swiss winner in Obereggen since Loic Meillard in 2016. In the first run he had placed fourth with the high bib number 24, but in the second run he è needed only the third best time to hoist himself to first place and to celebrate his first slalom victory in the European Cup in a long time, that is, after the one in Zakopane in February 2017. Matthias Iten, on the other hand, climbed up the rankings from position 11 after the first run to second place. Two other Swiss in the top 10, Tanguy Nef (sixth) and Joel Luetolf (10th).

Frenchman Steven Amiez, on the other hand, literally gave his second triumph in Obereggen after the one in 2022. First after the first run, with a huge gap of 1.08 seconds over Schmidiger, è exited after very few gates.

Disappointment also in the home of the Azzurri. After the first run Corrado Barbera, the reigning junior slalom world champion, and Simon Maurberger of Valle Aurina, fifth and seventh, could have hoped for a good result and maybe even the first Italian podium since Giuliano Razzoli in 2018 è finished second. In the end, they finished only 13th and 15th, setting the 25th and 22nd fastest times in the second run, respectively.

The European Cup in memory of Karl and Peter Pichler, celebrating its first 40 years this year, plays a special role in the European Cup. It is the oldest stage on the continental circuit and therefore not an 'ordinary' European Cup. Proof of this can be seen in the countless World Cup winners, world champions and Olympic champions who have stood on the podium in Obereggen in its 40-year history. Above them all is Marcel Hirscher of Austria, the most successful skier of all time, third in 2007, then 18 years old. Athletes such as Clement Noel, Andre Myhrer (recordman with four triumphs), Giuliano Razzoli, Reinfried Herbst, Manfred Pranger, Alberto Tomba, Benjamin Raich, Stephan Eberharter, Kristian Ghedina, Luc Alphand, Tomas Fogdoe, Rudi Nierlich, Armin Bittner, Peter Müller and many others have also stood on the podium in Obereggen.