Reinfried Herbst led another Austrian 1-2 finish in a men’s World Cup night slalom in front of 50,000 home fans on Tuesday.
“I finally fulfilled my dream — winning a race in Austria,” Herbst said. “This is the most beautiful win of my career.”
He led after the opening leg and earned a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 37.32 seconds to beat Manfred Pranger by 1.16 seconds for his second win of the season and fifth overall.
PHOTO: EPA
Herbst and Pranger already had two 1-2 finishes at World Cup slaloms this month in Switzerland, with Herbst winning in Adelboden and Pranger in Wengen.
Ivica Kostelic of Croatia was third, 1.23 behind, and extended his lead in the overall standings. He has 735 points, 75 more than Benjamin Raich of Austria, who went out in his second run.
Jean-Baptiste Grange of France was third with 656. Grange didn’t finish either but stayed atop the slalom standings.
Herbst also led in Sunday’s slalom in Kitzbuehel, but went out early in his second run.
“I made a big mistake there and it was so important for me to get a second chance tonight,” he said.
Herbst posted the fastest time in both legs to gain an impressive lead of more than a second.
“The feeling was great,” Herbst said. “The course was set pretty hard so you had to control your speed carefully. I managed to do that to perfection.”
Pranger, who won the race in 2005, also felt he had to make up for going out at the race in Kitzbuehel two days earlier.
“I was so nervous coming here and knowing I had to do well,” he said. “Reini was unbeatable today, but second place is unbelievable.”
Kostelic started a World Cup race leading the overall standings for the first time in his career.
He was fifth after the opening run and attacked in his second, despite knowing his main challengers for the overall, Raich and Grange, were already out.
“I didn’t want to break up but still went to the limit,” Kostelic said.
“The fight for the overall title enters its decisive phase now. There is no time for tactics anymore, it’s just attacking,” he said.
Bode Miller, the defending overall champion, had no obvious mistakes in either run but finished 2.02 seconds back in eighth.
The race on the Planai course was in difficult conditions because of heavy snowfall, and nine of the 30 racers missed a gate in their second run and went out or hiked back up the hill.
The men’s World Cup circuit continues with a downhill and a slalom race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, next weekend before the world championships start in Val d’Isere, France, next Tuesday.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS