Ski World Cup 2021: Sebastian Foss-Solevaag takes first Norwegian slalom gold since 1997

 The  Norwegian Sebastian Foss-Solevaag won gold in slalom at the end of the World Ski Championships.  The  29-year-old prevailed on Sunday in Cortina d’Ampezzo ahead of the surprisingly strong Austrian Adrian Pertl (+0.21 seconds) and his Norwegian compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen (+0.46). Foss-Solevaag had won its first World Cup slalom this season and had already celebrated gold in the team event at the World Cup in the Dolomites.

Foss-Solevaag raced from third place after the first round to the front and brought the Norwegians their first slalom gold since Tom Stiansen in Sestriere in 1997.

 The  team also found satisfaction after a number of drivers around last year’s overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde were injured. Four Norwegians have achieved a total of slalom gold in history.

“It’s unbelievable, a dream,” said the new world champion on ZDF.

 The  last World Championship race was disappointing for the German starters: Linus Straßer was 15th, 3.36 seconds behind, Sebastian Holzmann was eliminated in the first run. For Straßer, as 23rd in the first round, all dreams of a better placement were broken early on. He therefore wanted to use the final run as a preparation for the next World Cup. “I didn’t really care about the result,” said Strasser afterwards.

Straßer also had bad luck due to a change in the regulations: unlike usual, the second round was not contested by the best 30 of the first run in reverse order, but only by the best 15 drivers.

 The  World Cup organizers wanted to protect the slope for the best drivers because of the high temperatures – but Straßer had no chance with a somewhat battered surface.

“We can go home with our heads held high”

 The  German team ended the World Cup with a surprisingly positive result: Romed Baumann (Super-G), Kira Weidle and Andreas Sander (each downhill) had sensationally won silver, and bronze in the team competition. “Four medals are significantly more than you expected from us,” said Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier and emphasized: “We can go home with our heads held high.”

In the medal table, the German team took seventh place.

 The  most successful nation was Austria with five golds, one silver and two bronze medals.

 The  Swiss won most of them, namely nine, with Lara Gut-Behrami (two golds, one bronze) as well as Austria with Katharina Liensberger (two golds, one bronze), a double world champion.

Foss-Solevaag (slalom / team) and Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr (downhill / Super-G) also won two gold medals. Mikaela Shiffrin won the most individual medals:

 The  25-year-old American finished the World Cup with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.