Schladming: giant night to Loic Meillard, regrets for Alex Vinatzer

Loic Meillard won the Schladming night giant slalom, thanks to a splendid second run and finished with a time of 2’14″38, a good 73 hundredths better than Lucas Braathen, who finished second and 90 ahead of Frenchman Alban Elezi Cannaferina, at the first podium of his career. Good comeback, after injury, for Giovanni Borsotti, who after an excellent first run closed in ninth place at 1″07 from the mid-race leader Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, attacks also in the second run, confirming the position even if the gap from the winner is 2″01.

Marco Enzo Venturini

Alex Vinatzer was fifth after the first run thanks to an excellent split, but a serious mistake in the second run caused him to slip to 23rd. Simon Talacci with bib 60 hit qualification for the second run with a 2″75 gap that was worth a temporary 24th place. A ringless second, however, caused the Livignasco man to lose a few positions.

Unqualified Luca De Aliprandini, who had derailed coming off a bump in the upper part of the course in the first run, avoiding the exit but finishing 4″60 behind the leader, just ahead of him was Tobias Kastlunger (+4″34), also out of the thirty. Out went Filippo Della Vite, who exited a few gates from the finish line while traveling at a mid-race podium pace.

Marco Odermatt, although his race was not excellent, finished in fourth position and gained another 50 points that consolidate him at the top of both the specialty standings, with 450 points, against Braathen’s 347 and Meillard’s 326. In the overall standings, it is hard to see who can approach the Swiss super champion, who rises to 1335 points, against Braathen’s 748 and Meillard’s 683. The first Italian is Giovanni Franzoni, ninth with 456 points.

Wednesday’s Schladming stage is completed with the slalom, first run at 5:45 p.m., second at 8:45 p.m.