When Kristoffer Jakobsen crossed the finish line in the first run, he was a full 2.75 seconds behind leader Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, Brazil, and had by far the worst time of anyone who had made it down the hill.
Rider after rider continued to perform better times than the 31-year-old and in the end he was outside the top 30 who were allowed to continue the competition. Jakobsen stayed in 44th place – six tenths away from being allowed to do the second run.
There was a historic victory.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has won the World Cup before for Norway and won the slalom cup in 2022–2023. The following season he did not compete at all due to a sponsorship conflict with the Norwegian Ski Association.
He was back in the World Cup circus last season, but now rides for his mother's homeland, Brazil.
Now he took Brazil's first Alpine World Cup victory in history – the "brass" was 31 hundredths ahead of second place Noël Clément, France, at the finish.
"I've had to sacrifice a lot and it's been challenging. Going it alone is a tough path to take, but for me it was the right path and it led me to the top here in Levi," says an emotional Pinheiro Braathen in the victory interview on Viaplay's broadcast.
Third was the Finn Eduard Hallberg, who took his first podium finish in his career in front of a roaring home crowd.
There were no Swedes in the second run. Gustav Wissting (+3.73) and William Hansson (+3.74) were too slow and Fabian Ax Swartz crashed out.
