WENGEN, Switzerland

Starting from 29th place after the first run, Lucas Braathen took a superb victory in a World Cup slalom on Sunday.

No skier had made such a leap in the standings to win a two-run men’s World Cup in at least more than 20 years, according to the ski-db.com database.

Braathen sat in the leader’s box at the finish area for 45 minutes, looking increasingly in disbelief, then in tears before looking at the last runner. His Norwegian teammate Henrik Kristoffersen then straddled a gate for a clear victory.

The mistake handed victory to Braathen who was almost a second quicker than any rival in the second moto on snow which cut in the hot sun before Kristoffersen started two seconds ahead to protect his advance.

In the end, Braathen was 0.22 seconds ahead of Daniel Yule of Switzerland. 2010 Olympic champion Giuliano Razzoli of Italy was third at 0.29 for his best finish in six years at 37.

Braathen’s victory was also notable for starting the day among the lowest-ranked riders wearing bib No. 31.

It was the second Sunday in a row that a Swiss slalom had been won by an underdog, after Johannes Strolz carried the No.38 to victory in nearby Adelboden.

“Words cannot describe how grateful I am,” said Braathen, 21, whose rankings plummeted after a season-ending knee injury a year ago when he crashed at the line finish of the giant slalom in Adelboden.

Braathen showed his talent before this serious injury by winning the season-opening giant slalom in Sölden, Austria in October 2020.

Braathen had also been fast in the first run on Sunday, until losing momentum in the bottom half to barely make it into the top 30 riders qualifying for the second leg.

“After my mistake in the first run, I was looking forward to redeeming myself in the second,” said Braathen, whose father is Norwegian and mother Brazilian.

The overtaking of 28 opponents for victory beat the January 2007 feat of Marc Berthod who rose from 27th place in the morning race to win the Adelboden slalom. Berthod was in Wengen working for Swiss television on Sunday filming his race on each course to give the public a bird’s eye view of the runner.

Braathen was helped by the early use of the second run snow surface and a gate setting designed by a Norwegian team coach.

A steep and tricky midsection saw several riders crash. Italian prospect Alex Vinatzer lost one ski, Austrian Christian Hirschbuehl lost both and Switzerland’s Luca Aerni was thrown through the air with both skis above the snow.

The three men on the podium posted their best results of the season, and Yule’s second place finish was the best by a Swiss slalom skier in Wengen for 23 years.

Razzoli now has four consecutive top-10 finishes in a season that has revitalized his career ahead of the Beijing Olympics next month.

An extremely unpredictable season in men’s slalom has now seen four different winners, including two starting outside the top 30 runners, and two end-to-end victories lost in the final meters (yards).

Kristoffersen appeared to have a one-second lead when he skied with four gates left. Last month in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Clément Noël missed a landslide victory by falling and slipping on the wrong side of the last gate.

Braathen is now third in the season standings and Yule second, behind Norwegian world champion Sebastian Foss-Solevaag who finished sixth on Sunday.

The slalom racers now head to Austria for the races next Sunday in Kitzbühel and the legendary night slalom two days later in Schladming.

___

More AP Skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/skiing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports