It seems to be the year of comebacks in the alpine world. Last week, American Lindsey Vonn – 82 wins in the World Cup – revealed that she is aiming for a comeback after ending her career in 2019.
The same year, Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who has won the overall World Cup a record number of times (8), also said goodbye, but he is now back on the slopes and competing for his mother's homeland, the Netherlands.
Hirscher missed
Norwegian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen does not have the same merits, but the star did not compete at all last season due to a sponsorship conflict with the Norwegian Ski Association. Now he is also competing for his mother's homeland, Brazil.
Both Hirscher and Pinheiro Braathen completed their comebacks at the end of October when the World Cup premiered in giant slalom in Sölden. Hirscher then finished 23rd, but Pinheiro Braathen scored a successful fourth place and performed a samba dance immediately after crossing the finish line.
When it was time for the season's first slalom competition in Finnish Levi, it ended for Hirscher after one run – he was more than six tenths of a second from reaching the top 30 who got to run again.
It went better for Lucas Pinheiro Braathen – much better. The 24-year-old was tenth after the first run, but scored the third-best time in the second run and took a new fourth place.
Jakobsen drove up
Frenchman Clement Noël won convincingly – 80 hundredths ahead of Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen and third-placed Loic Meillard, Switzerland.
Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen got a partially good receipt in Levi. He was only 26th after the first run, but had the fourth-best time in the second and drove up to an eleventh place.
Even Fabian Ax Swartz made it to the second run, but skied out.
