Home Field Win For Pinturault In Slalom This Past Weekend At Val d'Isère
After a wicked strong storm blew through Val d'Isère, France prior to the weekend of World Cup racing, the sun came out and the skies turned blue, giving not only the opportunity for some slalom action but what would be a home field win.
A Home Field Win For France
Although Sunday, December 15, was initially going to be a Ginat Slalom World Cup event, organizers made the decision to run the Slalom that was planned for the day prior. Heavy snows and winds forced the cancellation of the Slalom on Saturday, and with the course preparation needed to set up for the GS after that storm, it was better to go with the already set up Slalom course.
This turned into a wonderful thing for French superstar Alexis Pinturault as he was able to dominate the race, taking not only his 25th World Cup podium, but his first in Slalom in nearly six years.
The French skier would end up in first place, and not by a little bit. Pinturault would finish with a time of 1:47.91, putting him 1.44 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. That second-place spot went to Swedish racer Andre Myhrer. The times between the second and third positions, taken by Italian skier Stefano Gross, were much closer, separated by only .03 of a second.
19th Place Is A Win For American Luke Winters
Though young American Luke Winters finished 18 places and almost three full seconds behind Pinturault, the day turned into something of a win for the 22-year-old at Val d'Isère.
After starting in 40th, the young man would push his way into second place after the first run. However, after making several mistakes during the second run, Winters was able to only make 19th place in the field.
“After I had those mistakes, all I wanted was to get down and get my first World Cup points,” said Luke. “I’m happy with it. It’s hard to be mad. There were some nerves, but it’s part of the game.”
That is exactly what he was able to do. Though this was his eighth World Cup start, it would mark his first World Cup finish and his first time receiving World Cup points. Those points seat Winters at 29th in Slalom and 82nd in the Overall.
Congratulations to the young Slalom skier on this wonderful achievement and the next step in his World Cup career.
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