Austria’s Marcel Hirscher can now lay claim to his eighth-straight World Cup overall title, after a third-place slalom finish in Slovenia. But it was Switzerland’s six foot, seven inch Ramon Zenhaeusern who skied away with his first traditional slalom World Cup win in Kranjska Gora today.
After today’s race, Hirscher’s closest competitor in the overall standings, France’s Alexis Pinturault, trails the Austrian by more points than can be won in the remaining races of the season. The point check was a formality as Pinturault is not likely to enter Wednesday’s downhill race at the World Cup Finals in Andorra.
Crazy 8 in a row!
— Marcel Hirscher (@MarcelHirscher) March 9, 2019
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
#89 #weareskiing #verleihtflügel #IWILL #letsmoveforabetterworld #meinebank #DoWhatYouCant #audi pic.twitter.com/VW8Hhuia6E
With his latest overall title win, Hirscher also matches the World Cup record, set by the U.S.’ Lindsey Vonn, of 20 overall and discipline crystal globes won in a career. Hirscher does pass Vonn on the World Cup record list of most podium finishes, making his 138th career podium appearance today in Slovenia.
At the end of today’s first slalom run, Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen held a lead of more than half a second over the field, while Hirscher found himself eight tenths behind the leader in sixth place. Searching for his first podium finish of the season, Italy’s Manfred Moelgg was second with Pinturault in third.
Sitting in seventh place after his first run, Zenhaeusern came back with a masterful second run, overcoming a deficit of nine tenths of a second to overtake the lead. Skiing after Zenhaeusern, Hirscher laid down tracks well enough to pull into second place, just over a second behind Zenhaeusern.
Kristoffersen posed the final threat to Zenhaeusern, but he was unable to recover from mistakes made early in his second run to get the win, crossing the finish line over a second behind Zenhaeusern, but passing his rival Hirscher. Pinturault faltered, ending his day in seventh.
Attention now turns to the 2018-19 World Cup Final which kicks off on Wednesday in Soldeu, Andorra with the men’s and women’s downhill, but the real action starts on Thursday for U.S. fans as Mikaela Shiffrin is expected to ski. The women’s super-G and giant slalom crystal globes are still up for grabs, with Shiffrin holding point leads in both disciplines.
Watch the women’s super-G live on Thursday beginning at 5:30 a.m. ET on TV and streaming on Olympic Channel and NBC Sports Gold, with an encore presentation airing on NBCSN on TV at 11:00 a.m. ET.
To see if Shiffrin can win the giant slalom crystal globe, watch the first run live on Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. and the second run at 7:00 a.m. Live first run action will be streaming on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with the second run airing live on TV and streaming with Olympic Channel and NBC Sports Gold.
Check out the full schedule below for times, events and where to watch live on TV and streaming.
ALPINE SKIING WORLD CUP FINAL -- Soldeu, Andorra
| Day | Time (ET) | Event | TV | Stream |
| Wednesday | 5:30 a.m. | Men’s & Women’s Downhill | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold |
| 12:30 p.m. | Men’s & Women’s Downhill* | NBCSN | ||
| Thursday | 5:30 a.m. | Men’s & Women’s Super-G | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold |
| 11:00 p.m. | Men’s & Women’s Super-G* | NBCSN | ||
| Friday | 7:00 a.m. | Team Event | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold |
| Saturday | 4:30 a.m. | Men’s Giant Slalom (Run 1) | OlympicChannel.com/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 5:30 a.m. | Women’s Slalom (Run 1) | OlympicChannel.com/NBC Sports Gold | ||
| 7:00 a.m. | Men’s Giant Slalom (Run 2) | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 8:00 a.m. | Women’s Slalom (Run 2) | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold | |
| Sunday | 4:30 a.m. | Women’s Giant Slalom (Run 1) | OlympicChannel.com/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 5:30 a.m. | Men’s Slalom (Run 1) | OlympicChannel.com/NBC Sports Gold | ||
| 7:00 a.m. | Women’s Giant Slalom (Run 2) | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 8:00 a.m. | Men’s Slalom (Run 2) | Olympic Channel | Olympic Channel/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Women’s Giant Slalom* | NBCSN |