Henrik Kristoffersen is in 4th place at the halfway point of the slalom in Madonna di Campiglio. Nevertheless, he is very angry during the SRF interview and has no understanding for the inconsistent slope preparation.
The first run of the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio is an unparalleled skiing spectacle. The first seven racers are only 0.41 seconds apart and Loic Meillard in 18th place is just 87 hundredths behind the surprising leader Eduard Hallberg.
Henrik Kristoffersen is also in the thick of the fight for victory, in 4th place just 0.29 seconds behind the leader. Anyone expecting the Norwegian to be in a good mood during the SRF interview is very much mistaken. Kristoffersen reveals that he is happy with his run, but then goes into a rage: "It's a shame that the conditions are so inconsistent. Slippery, aggressive, slippery, aggressive. It's so unnecessary."
After all, it was the first race where it worked for him even in such inconsistent conditions, according to the 31-year-old, who explains that he was not surprised by the conditions: "I already noticed it during the inspection, but it's so unnecessary. It really is so unnecessary!" The Norwegian is referring to the slope, which was obviously deliberately prepared so that the surface was not evenly smooth and grippy.
Kristoffersen states that the spectators couldn't care less, as it was a close race. For the athletes, on the other hand, it was a bit bad, as we saw with Fabio Gstrein, who was eliminated: "He had no chance, lots of grip, little grip."
In the end, however, Kristoffersen still draws a positive conclusion: "It is perhaps the first race in my career - or for many years - where it has worked in such inconsistent conditions. That's why I'm quite satisfied."
However, the Norwegian was probably not at all happy with his second run. Kristoffersen dropped back from 4th place to 15th.
