|
The most successful French skier in World Cup
history was leading after the first leg of the season's final
giant slalom, on a course set by his coach in the Swiss resort
of Lenzerheide.
Wearing bib number one, he completed his run in one minute 01.19
seconds. Closest rival Marco Odermatt of Switzerland was 1.66
seconds slower down the Silvano Beltrametti piste and 10th
equal.
Odermatt leads Pinturault by 25 points in the giant slalom
standings, while the Frenchman is 31 points ahead overall with
only the slalom remaining, and a maximum 100 points, on Sunday
after Saturday's race.
Odermatt is not expected to compete in the slalom.
Pinturault would be the first French overall World Cup champion
since Luc Alphand in 1997 and first to take the giant slalom
title since Frederic Covili in 2002.
Odermatt's hopes of taking the overall title on home snow had
receded already after the downhill and super-G races were
cancelled earlier in the week due to bad weather.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
