WENGEN, Switzerland — Marcel Hirscher continues to dominate the World Cup circuit as he secured his fifth straight slalom win of the season on Sunday at Wengen. The Austrian skier extended his lead in the overall standings and sent a strong message to his Olympic competitors ahead of next month’s Pyeongchang Games.
Hirscher finished first by 0.93 seconds ahead of Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, who has finished second to Hirscher seven times this season. Sweden’s Andre Myhrer took third place on a challenging, icy course where over 20 racers failed to complete the first run.
Kristoffersen acknowledged Hirscher’s superiority but vowed to keep fighting. “At the moment, he’s just better. I’ll never give up, and I’ll train as much as I need to to get back on top,” Kristoffersen told reporters.
Despite winning 53 World Cup races in his career, this was Hirscher’s first victory at Wengen, one of the sport’s classic events and a venue where Kristoffersen had won the last two years. Hirscher said, “Everyone is beatable, including myself.
Winning here for the first time is special. This was the only classic slalom race I hadn’t won, and now that question is settled.”
Hirscher leads the overall World Cup standings with 974 points, 174 points ahead of Kristoffersen in second place. France’s Alexis Pinturault ranks third with 579 points. This season, Hirscher has won eight races in total, including three giant slalom events.
His strong performance puts him firmly on track to claim a seventh consecutive overall World Cup title.