Although he began with a starting number of 48, Croatian skier Elias Kolega qualified for the second run of the slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland and achieved his best career-placement, reports Gol.hr on January 13, 2019.
Kolega achieved a brilliant second run and finished in sixth place, 1.97 seconds behind the winner Marcel Hirscher. This is Hirscher’s 67th World Cup win and his 16th in Adelboden.
The 22-year-old Croatian’s best placement before the run in Adelboden was finishing 20th place on Sljeme. This is also the best result for Croatian skiing after the departure of Ivica Kostelić.
Kolega finished ninth in the first run, with Swiss skier Ramon Zenhaeusern in front of Kolega by one second. Zenhaeusern eventually ended fifth; second place was taken by Clement Noel, third place by Henrik Kristofferson, and fourth by Alexis Pinturault.
The second Croatian representative in the second run, Istok Rodeš (who was 16th place in the first run), made a mistake in the first part of the track and failed to finish. Matej Vidović and Filip Zubčić were unable to qualify for the second run.
Due to difficult conditions, many skiers were not able to finish the race at all, including the fastest in the first run, Marco Schwarz.
After today’s race, Hirscher has increased his lead in the slalom race – now totaling 436 points. In second is Swiss skier Daniel Yule with 278 points, and in third is Henrik Kristoffersen with 269 points.
Of the Croatian skiers, the best placed is Istok Rodeš who is in 19th place with 72 points, followed by Elias Kolega in the 26th place with 51 points, and Matej Vidović in the 27th place with 49 points.
In the overall ranking, Hirscher is in first with 976 points, second is Kristoffersen with 571 points, and in third is the French skier Pitaurault with 494 points. Rodeš is 54th overall with 72 points, Kolega is 71st with 51 points, Vidović is 73rd with 49 points, and Zubčić is 80th with 36 points.
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