Pinturault ends 2016 with alpine combined victory
The World Cup men said “goodbye” to 2016 with an alpine combined in Santa Caterina, Italy on Thursday. Under sunny skies, they took on one run of super-G and one run of slalom–the first of three AC races this season including the World Championship event. The super-G course knocked out nearly one-third of the field with a technical set, but Alexis Pinturault of France was able to handle the challenges of the day, winning with a combined time of 2:19.71.
The Frenchman is a powerhouse in alpine combined, having won two of the three events last season and taking home the 2016 discipline globe. Yet this race, he thinks, was his best alpine combined ever, feeling confident in both super-G and slalom.
“Winning is always something special,” he said. “This super combined was really interesting. The super-G I get in a good place like Marcel and then it was a really good fight for slalom.”
Pinturault fought hard to overcome his deficit from first run. Behind the winner was Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who has never won an alpine combined before. This result marked his 99th World Cup podium, and increased his lead in the overall standings by 80 points. The Austrian now has 713 points, 231 more than Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who is second in the rankings.
Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who was leading after the super-G run by 0.76 seconds, ended the day in third place. The result is his first World Cup podium finish in alpine combined, which is in part thanks to the slalom set by his coach, Fabien Mazuir.
“I knew a little about the course and how it was going to be, so that was for sure an advantage for me,” he shared.
The Americans had a solid day as three of the six athletes finished in the top 30. Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the men in the super-G run, making an impressive move from bib 50 into 12th position. Just behind him was Jared Goldberg in 13th, Brennan Rubie in 15th and Bryce Bennett in 25th. Andrew Weibrecht and Thomas Biesemeyer did not finish the super-G run.
“There were a few spots that were critical,” Cochran-Siegle said. “Up top, there was just this double that had a pretty big kicker going into the pitch, and if you didn’t have the right ski direction or you didn’t make the right move or was late to the next gate to make the switch, I mean, there were so many people that went out.”
Up until Thursday, Cochran-Siegle’s best AC result was 25th place in Wengen, Switzerland in 2013. In Santa Caterina, he set a new bar for himself, finishing the day with a career-best 10th place. Rubie was also able to move up after his slalom run, ending the day in 11th — a career-best result. Bennett and Goldberg ended up in 26th and 32nd respectively.
The men now have a few days off before the first race of 2017, a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia.
Top 10
- Alexis Pinturault (FRA) – Head / Head / Head
- Marcel Hirscher (AUT) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Justin Murisier (SUI) – Volkl / Dalbello / Marker
- Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA) – Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
- Erik Read (CAN) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
- Luca Aerni (SUI) – Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
- Mauro Caviezel (SUI) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Valentin Giraud Moine (FRA) – Salomon / Salomon / Salomon
- Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
Official Results
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | Diff. | FIS Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 194364 | PINTURAULT Alexis | 1991 | FRA | 2:19.71 | 0.00 | |||
| 2 | 31 | 53831 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 2:20.05 | +0.34 | 2.80 | ||
| 3 | 12 | 422139 | KILDE Aleksander Aamodt | 1992 | NOR | 2:20.84 | +1.13 | 9.30 | ||
| 4 | 20 | 511896 | MURISIER Justin | 1992 | SUI | 2:21.58 | +1.87 | 15.39 | ||
| 5 | 13 | 193967 | MUFFAT-JEANDET Victor | 1989 | FRA | 2:21.71 | +2.00 | 16.46 | ||
| 6 | 56 | 103729 | READ Erik | 1991 | CAN | 2:22.12 | +2.41 | 19.84 | ||
| 7 | 66 | 511983 | AERNI Luca | 1993 | SUI | 2:22.58 | +2.87 | 23.62 | ||
| 8 | 8 | 511513 | CAVIEZEL Mauro | 1988 | SUI | 2:22.63 | +2.92 | 24.04 | ||
| 9 | 6 | 194542 | GIRAUD MOINE Valentin | 1992 | FRA | 2:22.79 | +3.08 | 25.35 | ||
| 10 | 50 | 6530319 | COCHRAN-SIEGLE Ryan | 1992 | USA | 2:22.84 | +3.13 | 25.76 | ||
| 11 | 51 | 934568 | RUBIE Brennan | 1991 | USA | 2:22.95 | +3.24 | 26.67 | ||
| 12 | 28 | 150644 | KRYZL Krystof | 1986 | CZE | 2:23.03 | +3.32 | 27.33 | ||
| 13 | 3 | 561217 | KOSI Klemen | 1991 | SLO | 2:23.12 | +3.41 | 28.07 | ||
| 14 | 19 | 53980 | KRIECHMAYR Vincent | 1991 | AUT | 2:23.19 | +3.48 | 28.65 | ||
| 15 | 16 | 53902 | MAYER Matthias | 1990 | AUT | 2:23.38 | +3.67 | 30.21 | ||
| 16 | 34 | 561255 | CATER Martin | 1992 | SLO | 2:23.58 | +3.87 | 31.86 | ||
| 17 | 1 | 700830 | ZAMPA Adam | 1990 | SVK | 2:23.82 | +4.11 | 33.83 | ||
| 18 | 18 | 292455 | FILL Peter | 1982 | ITA | 2:23.92 | +4.21 | 34.65 | ||
| 19 | 48 | 422310 | SEJERSTED Adrian Smiseth | 1994 | NOR | 2:24.02 | +4.31 | 35.48 | ||
| 20 | 23 | 380335 | ZUBCIC Filip | 1993 | CRO | 2:24.04 | +4.33 | 35.64 | ||
| 21 | 40 | 422073 | NETELAND Bjoernar | 1991 | NOR | 2:24.05 | +4.34 | 35.72 | ||
| 22 | 25 | 194298 | GIEZENDANNER Blaise | 1991 | FRA | 2:24.08 | +4.37 | 35.97 | ||
| 23 | 35 | 561322 | HADALIN Stefan | 1995 | SLO | 2:24.22 | +4.51 | 37.12 | ||
| 24 | 42 | 54009 | WALDER Christian | 1991 | AUT | 2:24.31 | +4.60 | 37.86 | ||
| 25 | 24 | 511847 | MANI Nils | 1992 | SUI | 2:24.41 | +4.70 | 38.69 | ||
| 26 | 10 | 6530104 | BENNETT Bryce | 1992 | USA | 2:24.43 | +4.72 | 38.85 | ||
| 27 | 22 | 202535 | DRESSEN Thomas | 1993 | GER | 2:24.66 | +4.95 | 40.75 | ||
| 28 | 70 | 990116 | DE ALIPRANDINI Luca | 1990 | ITA | 2:24.73 | +5.02 | 41.32 | ||
| 29 | 17 | 51215 | BAUMANN Romed | 1986 | AUT | 2:24.78 | +5.07 | 41.73 | ||
| 30 | 32 | 511383 | FEUZ Beat | 1987 | SUI | 2:24.84 | +5.13 | 42.23 | ||
| 31 | 49 | 202059 | FERSTL Josef | 1988 | GER | 2:24.92 | +5.21 | 42.89 | ||
| 32 | 4 | 934643 | GOLDBERG Jared | 1991 | USA | 2:25.04 | +5.33 | 43.87 | ||
| 33 | 65 | 180570 | ROMAR Andreas | 1989 | FIN | 2:25.10 | +5.39 | 44.37 | ||
| 34 | 67 | 700879 | ZAMPA Andreas | 1993 | SVK | 2:25.21 | +5.50 | 45.27 | ||
| 35 | 27 | 990081 | CASSE Mattia | 1990 | ITA | 2:25.74 | +6.03 | 49.63 | ||
| 36 | 45 | 53968 | BERTHOLD Frederic | 1991 | AUT | 2:26.16 | +6.45 | 53.09 | ||
| 36 | 14 | 380260 | KOSTELIC Ivica | 1979 | CRO | 2:26.16 | +6.45 | 53.09 | ||
| 38 | 58 | 103762 | WERRY Tyler | 1991 | CAN | 2:26.73 | +7.02 | 57.78 | ||
| 39 | 57 | 430429 | BYDLINSKI Maciej | 1988 | POL | 2:27.70 | +7.99 | 65.77 | ||
| Did not start 1st run | ||||||||||
| 62 | 430472 | KLUSAK Michal | 1990 | POL | ||||||
| 38 | 60253 | MARCHANT Armand | 1997 | BEL | ||||||
| Did not finish 2nd run | ||||||||||
| 63 | 30149 | SIMARI BIRKNER Cristian Javier | 1980 | ARG | ||||||
| 29 | 200379 | SANDER Andreas | 1989 | GER | ||||||
| 9 | 421483 | JANSRUD Kjetil | 1985 | NOR | ||||||
| 5 | 291459 | PARIS Dominik | 1989 | ITA | ||||||
| Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
| 69 | 531452 | BIESEMEYER Thomas | 1989 | USA | ||||||
| 68 | 6190176 | BAILET Matthieu | 1996 | FRA | ||||||
| 64 | 380361 | RODES Istok | 1996 | CRO | ||||||
| 61 | 151215 | FOREJTEK Filip | 1997 | CZE | ||||||
| 60 | 512124 | HINTERMANN Niels | 1995 | SUI | ||||||
| 59 | 530939 | WEIBRECHT Andrew | 1986 | USA | ||||||
| 55 | 6290985 | BUZZI Emanuele | 1994 | ITA | ||||||
| 54 | 502004 | KOELL Alexander | 1990 | SWE | ||||||
| 53 | 110324 | VON APPEN Henrik | 1994 | CHI | ||||||
| 52 | 104096 | THOMPSON Broderick | 1994 | CAN | ||||||
| 47 | 54076 | KOECK Niklas | 1992 | AUT | ||||||
| 46 | 561117 | KUERNER Miha | 1987 | SLO | ||||||
| 44 | 194495 | FAIVRE Mathieu | 1992 | FRA | ||||||
| 43 | 194873 | SARRAZIN Cyprien | 1994 | FRA | ||||||
| 41 | 294904 | PANGRAZZI Paolo | 1988 | ITA | ||||||
| 39 | 561310 | HROBAT Miha | 1995 | SLO | ||||||
| 37 | 150743 | BERNDT Ondrej | 1988 | CZE | ||||||
| 36 | 6290540 | DE VETTORI Matteo | 1993 | ITA | ||||||
| 33 | 481327 | TRIKHICHEV Pavel | 1992 | RUS | ||||||
| 30 | 511981 | WEBER Ralph | 1993 | SUI | ||||||
| 26 | 293006 | INNERHOFER Christof | 1984 | ITA | ||||||
| 21 | 561216 | KLINE Bostjan | 1991 | SLO | ||||||
| 15 | 511313 | JANKA Carlo | 1986 | SUI | ||||||
| 11 | 192746 | THEAUX Adrien | 1984 | FRA | ||||||
| 2 | 291318 | TONETTI Riccardo | 1989 | ITA | ||||||
About the Author: Gabbi Hall
