Crime story in Madonna: So close to a sensation

The slalom season in January kicked off on Wednesday evening in Madonna di Campiglio. A sensational victory was almost achieved.

07 January 2026

From: dl

Finland almost secured its first men's World Cup victory in nearly 20 years. The last Finnish winner was the legendary Kalle Pallander in December 2007. His successor, Eduard Hallberg, nearly held onto his lead from the halfway point. The 22-year-old high-flyer was still in the lead until the final split time. In the end, Hallberg, who secured his second podium finish, missed out on first place by just 12 hundredths of a second to Clement Noel.

The Frenchman secured his first victory in Madonna di Campiglio. This puts Noel just three points behind leader Timon Haugan in the slalom standings. Noel's French teammate Paco Rassat, who had already won in Gurgl, finished third on Wednesday.

Canins scores World Cup points for the first time

Alex Vinatzer was eliminated in the first heat after a strong intermediate time. Matteo Canins was the only South Tyrolean to qualify for the second run. The Val Badia native achieved this feat for the first time in his 17th World Cup appearance – and immediately scored his first points. Although Canins didn't have an optimal run on the challenging course in the final, he still managed to collect his first ten points, finishing 21st.

Matteo Canins celebrated a premiere at the age of 27. © pentaphoto

Besides Canins, only one other Italian skier managed to score points at the home World Cup in Trentino: Tommaso Sala, in 19th place, was the best result for a proud slalom nation. The men's Ski World Cup continues on Saturday and Sunday with a technical weekend in Adelboden.