Alpine Skiing: Alexis Pinturault Reigns In Chamonix

Third and last Super Combined of the season, the race to the crystal globe of the specialty ended today in Chamonix. Due to the weather, the Super Combined program had to switch to start with the Slalom instead of the Downhill.

First Run (Slalom) :

We found a French top 3 after the slalom in Chamonix. Alexis Pinturault led the Slalom run ahead of Thomas Mermillod Blondin and Victor Muffat-Jeandet.

Alexis Pinturault set the pace in 42.55 seconds. The French racer looked to take as much time as possible on Downhill specialists, dancing from gate to gate. In second place was Thomas Mermillod Blondin. Despite a huge error in the medium part of the track, the Frenchman managed to ski down the slope with a great time. Victor Muffat-Jeandet set the third time of the Slalom run. Like his teammate Mermillod-Blondin, he committed some key errors in the middle part of the track but finished in a better way, landing on the podium.

Downhill specialists managed to make a provisional top 10, a perfect position to chase Pinturault away. Dominik Paris impressed during the first run, finishing 5th. We could see he worked hard on his slalom skills during the offseason. The Italian racer ended at 1.27 seconds of the French leader. Carlo Janka finished at 6th place of the Slalom. The Swiss racer had a great morning at the office, placing himself in the race to the podium. He is in the fight for the Crystal Globe of the specialty with Alexis Pinturault, Kjetil Jansrud ended 9th on the first run. Another Downhill specialist, Adrien Théaux, finished at the 10th position. They will both claim a place to the podium.

Ivica Kostelic was the great surprise of the morning. The Croatian managed to land at the 4th provisional place after the Slalom. He was utterly thrilled with his run, skiing to the finish area with a huge smile on his face, enough to delight fans.

Skiing the Slalom before the Downhill in the Super Combined surely gives the advantage to the pure Downhill specialists.

Second Run (Downhill) :

The snow was falling down heavily in Chamonix, obliging the organization to shorten the Downhill, already judged slow.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was the first to make a big impression during the Downhill. He, however, committed a huge mistake on the medium part of the slope that made him lose precious hundredths of seconds. He ended up in the lead, though. Then three specialists took the lead one after another. Adrien Théaux skied with authority, finishing 0.81 seconds ahead of Kilde. Kjetil Jansrud finished ahead of the Frenchman after a masterful run from the start gate to the finish area. Then, Dominik Paris showed great skills. After a bad start, the Italian managed to ski a smooth and error-free Downhill to garner the lead.

Determined Frenchmen at home :

Victor Muffat-Jeandet, Thomas Mermillod Blondin and Alexis Pinturault were the only ones able to change the hierarchy of this Super Combined. Muffat-Jeandet impressed, being able to finish second behind the Italian Paris. Mermillod Blondin skied as well as his teammate. You could see how ambitious he was, finally ending in second, behind Paris and ahead of Muffat-Jeandet. He was calm and cautious in the start gate.

Alexis Pinturault was determined to give everything in front of his crowd. The skier from Courchevel skied smooth and beautiful sections to reach the finish area with the green light. He finally won the Super Combined of Chamonix and the overall class of the SC.

It is impossible to not talk about the great performance of the young skier from Chamonix, Blaise Giezendanner, who reached the top 10 starting at 4.28 seconds of his teammate Pinturault. Giezendanner also gave forth the best time of the Downhill.

Final Results :

Alexis Pinturault wins the Super Combined 0.27 seconds ahead of Dominik Paris and 0.57 seconds ahead of Thomas Mermillod Blondin. He makes it a hat trick also winning the Crystal Globe of the specialty.