Radamus Ties Season High in Hafjell
On Saturday’s final giant slalom of the regular World Cup season Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus tied his season best in seventh place.
“They have done a phenomenal job with the hill prep here, one of the best we've seen all year. It's really fun to ski and the crowd is awesome,” said Radamus.
It was a spring-like day in Hafjell but the conditions were top notch giving all skiers ample opportunity to throw one in the mix. Radamus who had been battling a season of highs and lows came out strong to sit in seventh on run one. Radamus is also one of the few to move up from a bib outside of the top 15. However the race is two runs and it was up to Radamus to lock in and ski smart for run two.
On the second run the conditions again were strong, however many in the first half of the field found it difficult to find the rhythm. A few skiers had major climbs, some sitting in the leaderboard for over 10 racers. Then came the top eighth. The leader changing at each racer.
Radamus was up next and he skied effortlessly and strong. Radamus found his signature angles and found the green light. While his leaderboard moment did not last long he was able to leave the giant slalom regular season with one of his season bests. A great way to go into Sun Valley.
“I'd like to be standing on the podium today, but I've been struggling a bit with my skiing,” said Radamus. “It's been up and down. I've had one fast run, one slow run all season long. I had two that I was pretty happy with and I still have some stuff to clean up, but I think it was a step in the right direction.”
It was the Swiss who ended up (once again) dominating the field with a sweep of 1-2-3. Loic Meillard claimed first, Marco Odermatt second and Thomas Tumler in third. Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Bridger Gile landed just outside the top 30 flip in 34th and Patrick Kenney in 39th.
RESULTS
men's giant slalom
HOW TO WATCH
4:30 a.m. ET - men’s slalom, run 1, Hafjell - skiandsnowboard.live
7:30 a.m. ET - men’s slalom, Hafjell, run 2 - skiandsnowboard.live
River Radamus
River Radamus hails from Edwards, Colorado where he learned to ski on the slopes of Vail, alongside his parents who are coaches. Radamus showed promise from an early age, named to the team in 2016. He is a three-time Youth Olympic Games gold medalist; he is the first to achieve this feat. Radamus also won two Junior World Championships gold medals, one in super-G and one in giant slalom. Radamus finished just off the podium at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, in fourth place. He was also part of the team event that won gold at the 2023 World Championships event.