Men’s world giant slalom: Five things to know

Åre (Sweden) (AFP) – Marcel Hirscher will make his first appearance at the World Ski Championships in Are when he competes in Friday’s giant slalom.

The Austrian, however, is nursing a cold that saw him cancel a much-anticipated press conference to give his countrymen the jitters before their hero is scheduled to take to the pistes.

AFP looks at five things to know ahead of Sunday’s race.

– King Marcel –

Defending world and Olympic champion Hirscher, well on his way to a record eighth overall World Cup title, has won four of this season’s five giant slalom. Should the 29-year-old Austrian win in Are, he would scoop a fifth world title. That would move him into joint third spot (behind compatriot Toni Sailer (7) and France’s Jean-Claude Killy (6)) with American Ted Ligety, Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark, Italy’s Gustavo Thoeni, and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Andre Aamodt.

– Henrik the pretender –

It has been a barren year for Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, without a win since the Kitzbuehel slalom in 2018. The Norwegian won Olympic silver in Pyeongchang behind Hirscher but has failed to make the podium in three participations at world championships to date. There have been three podium finishes in the GS this season. “I hate to lose, I love winning, winning is always fun,” said Kristoffersen. “The coolest thing in the world is to beat the best people in the world. At the moment, Marcel is the best and we’re trying to beat him.”

– ‘Pintu’ leads French quartet –

Alexis Pinturault finally claimed his first global individual gold when he won the alpine combined in Are. He leads a strong quartet of French racers inclduing Victor Muffat-Jeandet, Mathieu Faivre and Thomas Fanara and who are all capable of pushing for a podium. “Obviously I’m aiming for a medal, I really want to enjoy my last world championships, to seize my chance,” said Fanara, who came in third in the famed Adelboden slalom last month.

– Other contenders –

Matts Olsson, third in the Val d’Isere GS in December, will carry the hopes of the host nation, while Switzerland’s Loic Meillard, a stand-out at junior level, will try to build on two second places in slalom and GS in Saalbach this season.

– GS, a skier’s bread and butter –

Giant slalom demands that skiers pass through a series of gates not as close to each other as the slalom but not as displaced as the super-G. The number of gates for men is between 56-70 with an altitude drop of 300-450m. The discipline is raced over two runs on the same slope, with the starting order for the second run dependant on results from the first run: the skier placed 30th will start, with the leader running last. Skiers do not have the chance of a pre-race training run, only a one-hour visual inspection on the morning of the race.