Last year's winner, Frenchman Antoine Azzolin, is registered again. © Matteo Groppo

The Obereggen classic is just around the corner.

Five days before Christmas Eve, the prestigious European Cup slalom takes place on Friday on the challenging Maierl slope in Obereggen. Simon Maurberger and his teammates are hoping to end the Italian team's drought, which has lasted since 2011. However, others are considered the favorites. The first run starts at 9:30 a.m., the second at 12:00 p.m.

17 December 2025

From: pm/det

Patrick Thaler and the superstars. Back in 2011, Patrick Thaler from Sarnen was the last Italian to win in Obereggen. At that time, the race was still held on the Oberholz slope. Now, the European Cup slalom has moved to the more challenging Maierl slope. The inaugural victory on the Maierl slope in 2016 went to a certain Loic Meillard, the current reigning Slalom World Cup champion and Slalom World Champion. Like Meillard, virtually every slalom star has raced in Obereggen at some point.

This is precisely what gives the oldest European Cup race of all, which has been held since 1983, its prestige. Winning in Obereggen is a good omen for one's career – and in this Olympic winter also for the Winter Games: Giuliano Razzoli became Olympic slalom champion in 2010 just a few weeks after his Obereggen victory.

The Azzurri

The Italian team is eager to end its winless streak in Obereggen, which began in 2011. Their preliminary entry list for Obereggen includes Simon Maurberger from the Ahrntal valley, who was eliminated in the first run of the World Cup slalom in Val d'Isère on Sunday and has had a mixed start to the season. He finished a respectable sixth in Obereggen last year. The Italians have also entered Matteo Canins, Tommaso Saccardi, Max Malsiner, and Edoardo Saracco, among others.

The favorites

But the favorites are others. On paper, the favorite is Samuel Kolega. The Croatian is ranked 19th in the FIS slalom list and has good memories of Obereggen: he finished third there in 2018. His teammate Istok Rodes, who is also entered again, won that race. The Austrians are also a force to be reckoned with, and their provisional roster includes Michael Matt, who finished 15th in Val d'Isère.

The dark horse according to the preliminary entry list is Hans Grahl-Madsen. The 22-year-old Norwegian finished sixth in Val d'Isère on Sunday, placing him firmly among the world's elite, and has already won one of his two European Cup slalom races this year – the one in Storklinken at the end of November. He finished fifth in Obereggen in both 2023 and 2024.

Simon Maurberger is South Tyrol's hope. © ANSA / SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Also entered are Sweden's William Hansson, winner of the first European Cup slalom of the season in Levi, last year's winner from France Antoine Azzolin, and last year's runner-up from Finland, Jesper Pohjolainen. Of course, it's particularly difficult to assign favorites in slalom, as the level of competition is extremely high.

As is customary in the European Cup, the entry list can still change until shortly before the bib draw on Thursday evening. The British team brings a curious surprise: their squad includes three brothers. 20-year-old Luca Carrick-Smith won slalom bronze at the 2025 Junior World Championships. His brothers are the 18-year-old twins Freddy and Zak. Zak won gold in both the slalom and combined events at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games.

That's according to organizing committee head Eduard "Edi" Pichler. According to Pichler, the Maierl slope will be prepared for racing today, Wednesday, using a snow sprayer. "The snow is good, although the snow temperature could be a bit lower," he says. All in all, he's confident for Friday's slalom, even though the temperatures are unusually high for this time of year. Temperatures are expected to drop slightly overnight into Friday. The experienced team from SC Eggen, the Obereggen Ski School, Obereggen Latemar AG, and ASV Deutschnofen has everything under control organizationally.