Newcomer Sarrazin wins Alta Badia PGS in stunning style

By Published On: December 19th, 2016Comments Off on Newcomer Sarrazin wins Alta Badia PGS in stunning style

The always exciting dual format delivered once again under the lights on Monday as the men took on the Gran Risa for a second time in the World Cup parallel giant slalom (PGS) in Alta Badia, Italy. Virtual unknown Cyprien Sarrazin of France won the first World Cup of his young career, besting Swiss star Carlo Janka in the final heat of the evening in the fast-paced, first-to-the-finish format.

The night began with the opening round of 32 competitors skiing head-to-head in a run, re-run format, giving each racer a chance to ski both the red and blue courses. From the Round of 16 onward to the final, it was a one run knockout with one very clear rule: Win, or go home.

With several big names including Marcel Hirscher and Alexis Pinturault failing to advance past the first two rounds, it was literally anybody’s race as fans were treated to an adrenaline-filled evening of racing under the lights.

The small final saw two Attacking Vikings as Kjetil Jansrud and Leif Kristian Haugen battled it out for the final spot on the podium with Jansrud barely edging out his Norwegian teammate for the win. Jansrud won this event last season, showing he has somewhat of a knack for the new PGS format.

The 22-year-old Sarrazin’s performance for the entire night was nothing short of remarkable as the young Frenchman — who has only started seven World Cup races, mind you — defied the odds heat after heat before taking on Janka in the final. It looked like Sarrazin’s improbable string of luck had finally run out, however, as he lost his right pole while pushing out of the gate. To the shock of everyone watching, Sarrazin managed to hold off Janka and cross the finish just ahead of the Swiss for the win.

“I have never really dreamed about winning a World Cup,” Sarrazin said after the race. “My main goal is to ski as fast as possible and enjoy it. I was just trying my best and going for it. I was so concentrated that I wasn’t even looking at who was next to me”

Janka didn’t even expect to make it to the finals, so any finish on the podium was a bonus for him as he looks to carry this momentum into the rest of the season.

“I didn’t expect that I would be in the finals,” he explained. “I made some steps forward with my start and that was really important today for this competition, and also in the gates, I had a pretty good feeling, and it was fun to do this competition. It’s good that I’m on the podium today and I hope I can go on in the next few races with a little bit more confidence.”

For Jansrud, although he admits that he can’t compare a PGS to a full-on World Cup GS race, he thinks that the newer parallel formats are very fun for fans and provide something different for racers to test their skills head-to-head with their competitors.

“I think parallel is a fun discipline,” Jansrud said. “I’ve skied both parallel slalom and parallel GS and for sure, parallel slalom is way different than normal slalom. Parallel GS is kind of similar to GS, and I think it looks like there’s a little bit more action to it.”

The United States entered two racers with Tommy Ford and Ryan Cochran-Siegle taking on the field. Unfortunately, neither racer moved on past the first round.

The men now head to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, for a slalom on Dec 22.

Fans can stay up to date on World Cup by  downloading the U.S. Ski Team – Ski Racing app for iOS and Android.


Top 10

  1. Cyprien Sarrazin (FRA) – Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
  2. Carlo Janka (SUI) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
  3. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) – Head/Head/Head
  4. Leif Kristian Haugen (NOR) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
  5. Andre Myhrer (SWE) – Head/Head/Head
  6. Stefan Luitz (GER) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
  7. Gino Caviezel (SUI) – Head/Head/Head
  8. Mathieu Faivre (FRA) – Head/Head/Head
  9. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) – Head/Head/Head
  10. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look

Official Results

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Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff. FIS Points
 1  23  194873 SARRAZIN Cyprien 1994 FRA
 2  20  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI
 3  17  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR
 4  11  421669 HAUGEN Leif Kristian 1987 NOR
 5  15  501017 MYHRER Andre 1983 SWE
 6  9  202437 LUITZ Stefan 1992 GER
 7  28  511852 CAVIEZEL Gino 1992 SUI
 8  3  194495 FAIVRE Mathieu 1992 FRA
 9  2  194364 PINTURAULT Alexis 1991 FRA
 10  4  422304 KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik 1994 NOR
 11  7  51007 SCHOERGHOFER Philipp 1983 AUT
 12  32  192506 MISSILLIER Steve 1984 FRA
 13  14  561244 KRANJEC Zan 1992 SLO
 14  8  292967 EISATH Florian 1984 ITA
 15  6  193967 MUFFAT-JEANDET Victor 1989 FRA
 16  12  54063 FELLER Manuel 1992 AUT
 17  31  501324 OLSSON Matts 1988 SWE
 18  1  53831 HIRSCHER Marcel 1989 AUT
 19  30  422073 NETELAND Bjoernar 1991 NOR
 20  26  6530319 COCHRAN-SIEGLE Ryan 1992 USA
 21  27  292491 MOELGG Manfred 1982 ITA
 22  13  990116 DE ALIPRANDINI Luca 1990 ITA
 23  5  201702 NEUREUTHER Felix 1984 GER
 24  25  51159 NOESIG Christoph 1985 AUT
 25  21  531799 FORD Tommy 1989 USA
 26  16  294890 NANI Roberto 1988 ITA
 27  22  54031 LEITINGER Roland 1991 AUT
 28  19  422139 KILDE Aleksander Aamodt 1992 NOR
 29  10  511896 MURISIER Justin 1992 SUI
 30  18  291459 PARIS Dominik 1989 ITA
 31  29  512269 ODERMATT Marco 1997 SUI
 32  24  380335 ZUBCIC Filip 1993 CRO

 

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About the Author: Sean Higgins

A Lake Tahoe native and University of Vermont graduate, Higgins was a member of the Catamounts' 2012 NCAA title winning squad and earned first team All-American honors in 2013. Prior to coming to Ski Racing Media, he coached U14s for the Squaw Valley Ski Team.