Swiss alpine skiing star Loïc Meillard saw nothing but green on Tuesday (27 January), authoring a memorable second run to leapfrog Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and claim his second giant slalom victory of the 2025/26 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season.
The two-time world champion held his nerve during a delayed second run, taking full advantage of the gate pattern set in his style to pull back the 0.06 seconds he’d forfeited to Pinheiro Braathen in the first run.
His clean turns on the upper section of the course gave way to ragged, yet effective carves through the final few gates, giving him command of the leader’s chair with only the Brazilian star left to ski.
With Braathen bleeding time at each split, Meillard’s chances of victory only grew in Schladming. The party-like atmosphere reached a crescendo as the Swiss star celebrated his victory in the finish area, with Braathen reigned to second at 0.73 seconds behind.
The duo were joined on the podium by French rising star Alban Elezi Cannaferina, who produced a sensational second run to jump from eighth to third – earning his first World Cup podium in 21 starts.
“I just tried to push all the way,” Meillard told broadcasters. “I had a few little mistakes a few times, but I was like, ‘no, I’ll just let go and don’t think too much,” and it paid off.”
“It’s always been a slope that I liked,” he added. “I have good memories with the first victory in GS, and to win again here, it’s amazing.”
Meillard now sits third in the overall World Cup standings on 683 points, trailing teammate Marco Odermatt (1,335 points) and Brazil’s Pinheiro Braathen (748 points). He’ll hope to win his first Olympic medal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.