The Slalom in Adelboden was an amazing race. With 24 racers finishing the first run within a second, the thriller continued in the second one to end with a surprise winner.
With bib number 38, and after finishing in the 7th position in the first run, Johannes Strolz was able to end at the top of the podium ahead of his teammate Manuel Feller (+0.17 sec.). It was his first World Cup Victory and podium for the skier from Vorarlberg. Before today, the best result in the World Cup for the 29-year-old Austrian skier was a 10th position in Madonna di Campiglio in 2020.
Strolz is currently not even in the ÖSV Team but is training with them. "This is absolutely awesome, especially here in Adelboden. This is a dream for me. I always believed in myself. But will it really happen then? I've had so many setbacks - then you start to doubt. But I was sure that I had even more in me and now I could finally show it" he said.
Austrian skiers have won ten of the 20 World Cup slalom events held in Adelboden.
The Austrian, whose father Hubert won a gold medal in the Alpine Combined at the Olympic Games in Calgary in 1988, was completely surprised to become the 300th winner in a World Cup race. “The most important thing is that I thank my entire family for always standing with me. Now what I have achieved over the past few years has finally paid off. It's crazy”, said Strolz.
Manuel Feller, after finishing second yesterday in the Giant Slalom, repeated the same position in the podium today in the Slalom. His active style fits perfectly this weekend in the demanding Chuenisbärgli racecourse. It's his 12th podium in the World Cup. He finished on the podium in three Giant Slalom and one Slalom event this World Cup season.
Feller was really happy about his first podium in this slalom season and about the victory of his teammate. “I've actually known the 'Strolzi' for a long time. He prepares the skis himself and has been fighting for years. He's not even on the roster now. And I told him again before the run that he should press down like in Madonna, he was just unlucky. I can only congratulate him”, said Feller.
The Top 8 in the first run had to struggle with increasingly thick snowfall on the already difficult Chuenisbärgli. "As I looked out from the start, the ground view was almost zero. But I'm overjoyed with second place. After the failures, very few can imagine what kind of pressure is on you. But I'm extremely happy with my second place”, he added.
Linus Strasser (+0.29) rounded out the podium. He stormed from 14th to third place with the second-best time in the second run in the legendary Chuenisbärgli. His last podium was last season in Adelboden when he finished in the second position. It's his third one in Slalom.
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