Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen achieved, for the third time this season, a podium in the alpine skiing World Cup. This Saturday (10), he won the silver medal at the Adelboden stage, in Switzerland, in the giant slalom race.
The victory went to Swiss Marco Odermatt, for the fifth consecutive year. Frenchman Léo Anguenot completed the podium. Norwegian by birth but with a Brazilian mother, Lucas returns to compete in Adelboden this Sunday (11), starting at 6:30 am (Brasília time), in the slalom, a race in which he won silver last year, at the same location.
In both events, the skier makes two descents on a route with fast curves, having to pass between poles stuck in the snow – the so-called “doors”. Whoever has the lowest total of times wins. The difference is that, in the giant, the distance between the doors is greater (around 25 meters), which leads to higher speeds than in the “conventional” slalom, where the space from one mast to another is smaller (approximately 13 meters) and the competitor needs more technique to complete the challenge.
In this Saturday’s race, Lucas had the second best first descent time, with 1min14s89, just 49 tenths behind Odermatt. In the next one, he clocked the same 1min16s83 as the Swiss, with a total time of 2min31s72. If he was unable to take the lead, the sum was enough to leave him ahead of Anguenot by 19 tenths.
The Brazilian had not completed the two descents of the giant slalom in Adelboden since 2021, when he still represented Norway. That year, he suffered a serious knee injury.
“I was very emotional between the descents today [sábado]. It’s the first time I’ve seen the finish line in Adelboden since I got injured here. It took a few years, but when I came back, I went straight to the podium,” said Lucas, in an interview with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
In addition to silver in Switzerland, Lucas had another second place in Alta Badia, Italy, in December, also in the giant slalom, and was champion of the Levi stage, in Finland, in the slalom, in October. The Brazilian occupies second place in the Alpine Skiing World Cup, with 488 points, counting the 80 points added this Saturday. There is a 37 advantage for Austrian Marco Schwarz. The lead is Odermatt, with 955 points. The victory in Adelboden earned the Swiss 100 points.
Lucas is one of Brazil’s main hopes at this year’s Winter Olympics, which will be held in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina, between February 6th and 22nd.. The country is looking for an unprecedented medal in the event.
