Braathen wins Sölden giant slalom as Haaser finishes fifth

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the World Cup season-opening giant slalom in Sölden on Sunday, with Austria’s Raphael Haaser finishing fifth, ORF reported. The Norwegian competing for Brazil beat Switzerland’s Loic Meillard by 0.48 seconds and Marco Odermatt by 0.49.

Haaser, the world champion, moved up from 20th place with the fastest time in the second run to finish 0.86 seconds behind Braathen. “It would be good if I could put it together like that over both runs,” he said. “In the second run I attacked all the way and carried it through from top to bottom. It felt much better. I managed to get the skis running well, so it was a very positive second run.”

Stefan Brennsteiner dropped from third at the halfway stage to 11th, while Patrick Feurstein finished 10th. Joshua Sturm placed 17th, giving Austria four skiers in the points. Marco Schwarz, runner-up last year, was eliminated in the first run.

The race was held on a shortened course after strong gusts affected the flat opening section. A crowd of 14,300 watched Braathen claim his ninth World Cup victory at the venue of his first win. It was his third consecutive giant slalom victory across seasons.