Luca Aerni’s run in the video. (SRF)
What kind of a huge party was that on Saturday? When Marco Odermatt achieved the first Swiss giant slalom victory since 2008 on Chuenisbärgli? Well – the party, it was huge. Pure ecstasy. The fans celebrated with alcohol and raclette in the evening, and the joyful winner was overjoyed. On Sunday, after the Odermatt giant slalom show, the Adelboden slalom followed. Sure, the Swiss wanted to imitate the 24-year-old and win. But from the beginning.
The slalom already started furiously. Sebastian Foss-Solevaag started as the first driver and he mastered the difficult slope with ease. Until shortly before the goal! Then he slipped and fell. Very bitter for the Norwegian, his time was absolutely great. But there was no time to breathe for the thousands of fans. The next drivers came straight away.
In the snowstorm, Manuel Feller was particularly convincing. The Austrian, who criticized the many fans without a mask on Saturday (“The Swiss try to infect everyone on one weekend”), leads after the first round at the same time as his compatriot Fabio Gstrein.
Big thriller in Adelboden
But the Swiss also showed top performances. Especially Luca Aerni. With the starting number 16 he delivered a sensational run, which was rewarded with 3rd place after the 1st run. Is it falling behind the leaders? 0.05 seconds. And the other Swiss? The 29-year-old Ramon Zenhäusern is just behind the podium after the first run (6th). His gap to first place is just 0.16 seconds. Absolute madness! In general, the 7 best drivers are classified within 0.17 seconds.
Daniel Yule (11th), Sandro Simonet (14th), Tanguy Nef (17th) and Loïc Meillard (19th) are also in the top 20 and with an absolutely top performance still have a chance of top positions in the classification.
“I don’t really feel nervous”
“The feeling was okay, I didn’t think I’d be that far ahead,” said Aerni happily after his first run. He didn’t really have an explanation for his top run. It is quite possible that the slope got better in the course of the race. The 28-year-old said: “The emotions got a bit high here at the finish. I don’t really feel nervous, I’m really looking forward to the second run. ” It starts at 1.30 p.m. (nih)