ALPINE SKI. The debut of the parallel giant slalom at the Audi FIS World Cup ended in grand fashion with Norwegian teammates Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal dueling in the final run. In the end, it was Jansrud’s turn to shine as he edged Svindal across the finish line in the big final.

Kjetil Jansrud of Norway takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Parallel Giant Slalom on December 21, 2015 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

It was the eighth podium for Norway during the last four days of races in Italy as clearly the Dolomite air agrees with the Attacking Vikings. Both Jansrud and Svindal have earned three, top-three finishes during the incredible pre-Christmas domination.

Kjetil Jansrud of Norway takes 1st place, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway takes 2nd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Parallel Giant Slalom on December 21, 2015 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

Jansrud was happy to win this event, but even more to beat his teammate: "I've tried to beat him all year. I've been close a few times, but never really gotten there, but it's a little absurd to finally beat him now in a new parallel discipline. It was absurd the two of us coming all the way to the finals, there were some good vibrations in the start knowing that the grand final was with two downhill Norwegians."
 
The second attacking viking liked the new action-packed format: "It was a little stressful, I always had to hurry to get back up to the top, but I think that's kind of a part of the event, everything is high pace. That's the way it has to be, high tempo all the way."

That pair each raced under the flood lights down the course in Alta Badia five times and both were unbeaten until the final showdown. The 1/16 run was a run, re-run format, giving the racers a chance to ski down both the red and the blue course. From the eighth finals onward, it was a knockout format and survival of the fittest, putting the pressure on the biggest names in Alpine skiing.

Alexis Pinturault of France in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Parallel Giant Slalom on December 21, 2015 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

Surprisingly, some early favorites also made early exits, with Marcel Hirscher, Ted Ligety and Felix Neureuther failing to finish in the top-eight.

Finishing behind the Norwegian duo was Andre Myher (SWE) who had a solid margin of victory against German Dominik Schwaiger in the small final.

"It was a lot of fun", he said. "I didn't expect the jumps from the beginning, you flew quite a lot. I think I managed to do it in a good way and try and find some speed out of it. Really happy with this."

The Cinderella story of the evening came from Italy’s Massimiliano Blardone, who was not even expected to be among the 32 starters, but thanks to a strong showing in yesterday’s giant slalom, he earned a bib for today’s race and ended up in sixth place, the highest finish for an Italian.

The new race format proved to be a hit with the fans and athletes, as there were compliments all around about the fast pace and constant action as athletes made their way down the parallel course.

FIS Alpine
21 December 2015

#attackingvikings strike again! Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal on the podium of this first parallel giant slalom ever. Head-to-head specialist Myhrer rounds up the podium, photo © #fisalpine

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