ALPINE SKI WORLD CUP. Austria’s veteran Mario Matt set a numbers of interesting records today at Val d’Isère where he won the second slalom of the season in a competition also marked by a series of DNF’s of top favorites in the morning leg. Last month, he was 2nd in the first slalom at Levi, in Finland, behind his colleague Marcel Hirscher.

Mario Matt of Austria takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

After clocking the best time in the first run, the skier from nearby St. Anton managed to remain focused and determined in the afternoon to beat by half a second Sweden’s Mattias Hargin while Italy’s Patrick Thaler reached his first podium for a long time finishing in 3rd position only 4/100 of a second ahead of France’s Jean Baptiste Grange.

Mattias Hargin of Sweden takes 2nd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

Patrick Thaler of Italy takes 3rd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d'Isere (Photo by Agence Zoom)
 
Two other Swedes also had a good day as Markus Larsson came in 5th ahead of Andre Myhrer, the 2012 slalom World Cup champion, with USA’s David Chodounsky finishing a strong 7th .

David Chodounsky of the USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom)
 

Jean Baptiste Grange of France during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

Last year’s winner Alexis Pinturault skied out in the final part of the first run while reigning World Champion Marcel Hirscher lost too much time to qualify for the second leg after making a major mistake in the upper part of the first run.
 
14th slalom World Cup win for Mario Matt
 
34 year-old Matt celebrated his fourteenth slalom victory on the World Cup tour – as many as former Olympic champion Benjamin Raich. Matt also captured a Super-combined event a few years ago at Wengen, in Switzerland. Today he reached his thirty-ninth slalom podium since the 1999/2000 season.

Mario Matt of Austria takes 1st place competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Agence Zoom)
 
From now on he is also the oldest slalom winner on the World Cup tour and one of the very few still active gate specialists having excelled on all major slalom runs during his intense career. “I am very happy about this victory, I went a few times on the podium in the past two years but since Kranjska Gora in 2011 I couldn’t win,” the Austrian said.

Mario Matt of Austria takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d’Isère, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

“It was really a tough race today. You had to push as hard as usual to win but still try to keep your skis under control as that very steep course was also pretty rough and bumpy too,” he also explained. “I was a little surprised how fast I was in the first run as I felt I was struggling in some sections."

"I think today no one felt too comfortable on that slope, but at least in the second run the first part felt fine even though I made a small mistake so I can’t complain.”
 
“I am having a great season-start so far, one of my best ever! We have trained very well this fall on various glaciers in Europe and in Sweden as I didn’t want to travel far to Argentina. I could soon find the right tuning for my skis, so that’s maybe why I am in good shape so early in the season."
 
"We also had a great last practice session in St. Anton before coming here, it was on a steep slope and it was a good chance to get ready for the conditions we found on the ‘La Face de Bellevarde’ run.”

A double World Champion in slalom back in 2001 and 2007, Matt was also pretty happy to take over the lead in the slalom World Cup standings – a classification he never could clinch since his first victory at Kitzbühel in January 2000.
 
“It’s fun for sure but there are so many slalom races left so I don’t really think about it for the moment. I rather focus on my next races in January and try hard to remain in good shape. I like racing on the ‘classic’ slopes a lot too. I am also looking forward to ski at Sochi even though the Olympics are still far away for me.”

Two great comebacks
 
Matthias Hargin, 8th in the first leg, put down an excellent second run and to reach his first podium for as long time - and his third in total so far.

“It feels really good to finally get another podium,” he told the press. “It has been two years since my last podiums in Zagreb and Schladming. I have been fighting hard these last winters to find back my best rhythm. Our new slalom trainer Rudi Soulard helped me a lot especially to be more focused and under control on tough slopes.”
 
“That change has been very important for me. We have the same way of thinking and we worked a lot on the setup, finding a way to help me ski smoother and not have it set up as aggressively as I used to do before,” Hargin also said.
 
Yet the happiest man on site certainly was Patrick Thaler, who after a few rough seasons where he got pushed out of the best 30 and failed to make the Italian team, showed that he still has the guts and the potential to ski at the top level.
 
“It’s a special day for me, I have been struggling for many years as I battled to come back on the podium. I have to thank a lot of people,” Thaler said with wet eyes after his strong race.

“Special thanks go to all my coaches but especially to Jacques Théolier who never stopped believing in me and gave me a chance to race when I was no longer part of the team three years ago. I dedicate that day to my sister who also went through some difficult time in past months.”

“I am now back with the team, but I still like to do and pay my own summer program as I don’t wish to travel far away to train in South America,” Thaler added. “I am among the oldest among the slalom skiers. I remember tracing with Alberto Tomba at the World Cup races in Shiga Kogen, in Japan, in 1997. I don’t need to ski so many days as before. I have a 2 year-old-boy now so I just wish to spend more time with him and my wife.”

Mario Matt of Austria takes 1st place, Mattias Hargin of Sweden takes 2nd place, Patrick Thaler of Italy takes 3rd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d'Isere (Photo by Agence Zoom)
 
The World Cup tour is now travelling to Italy where three races are scheduled next weekend at Val Gardena and Alta Badia where a Super-G, a downhill and a giant slalom are planned from Friday to Sunday. It should help Norway’s Axel Lund Svindal to build up his lead on his nearest rivals in the overall standings.

Patrick Lang
A.I.J.S. Ski Press News Center
December 15, 2013