SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway secured the season-long slalom title Thursday by finishing fourth in the final race of the World Cup, which was won by his teammate Timon Haugan.
After crossing the finish line, Kristoffersen dropped to the snow and pounded his chest in celebration. His strong performance kept Swiss racer Loic Meillard behind in the standings, earning Kristoffersen his fourth slalom crystal globe. Haugan’s victory moved him up to third place overall in the slalom rankings.
“I will look back on this when I’m done with gratitude,” said the 30-year-old Kristoffersen, who first won the World Cup slalom title in the 2015-16 season. “It takes a toll on everything — on the mind, on the family. Everyone around me, it takes a toll to work this hard and be on top for that long. It doesn’t get any easier.”
Haugan, who led after the first run, navigated a challenging and deteriorating course with a smooth line to finish with a combined time of 1 minute, 43.61 seconds. He edged out France’s Clement Noel by just 0.03 seconds. Austria’s Fabio Gstrein claimed third place.
“Very nervous — both runs,” Haugan said. “So happy with how it ended.” He also shared a light moment about doing some local shopping during his visit, picking up cowboy hats and a belt buckle.
Kristoffersen demonstrated remarkable consistency throughout the season, placing in the top eight in 11 of 12 World Cup slalom events, including two wins. With this victory, he ties with Alberto Tomba for four slalom World Cup crystal globes, trailing only legends Ingemar Stenmark (eight) and Marcel Hirscher (six).
After the race, Kristoffersen said his immediate plan was to rest before flying home to see his young son. When asked if he was still hungry for more success, he replied, “We’ll see in August.”
Germany’s Linus Strasser had a tense moment during his first run when a course worker unexpectedly entered his path. Strasser kept his focus and finished sixth. “Two gates before, I saw somebody sliding in. I started to do my calculations, ‘That’s going to be tight,’” Strasser explained. “But then the last gate before I passed him, I thought, ‘I might be skiing behind him.’ It worked out.”
American Benjamin Ritchie made a strong final run to move up to seventh place.
In the overall men’s World Cup standings, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt topped the leaderboard with 1,721 points, followed by Kristoffersen with 1,116 points and Meillard with 1,076.