Joan Verdú Finishes 20th in Adelboden Giant Slalom as Andorran Skiers Face Tough Conditions

Andorran skier Joan Verdú secured 20th place in the men's World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, on Saturday, earning 11 World Cup points and climbing to 22nd in the discipline standings with 60 points.

Starting with bib 21, Verdú posted the 20th-fastest first-run time of 1:16.38, 1.98 seconds off leader Marco Odermatt of Switzerland. He held pace early, losing just 0.25 seconds in the first sector and 0.35 in the second, but dropped further with 0.88 in the third and 0.50 in the fourth following a late entry to the wall and a long left-foot exit that sapped speed. Heavy snow worsened conditions for the second run, where Verdú attacked aggressively—down 0.22 seconds at first—but faded to 0.42 in the second sector and 1.05 in the third after drifting off line and braking before the wall. His 1:17.76 partial was 19th, 1.92 seconds behind River Radamus of the US, for a total of 2:34.14, 2.91 seconds off Odermatt's winning 2:31.23. Odermatt claimed his fifth straight victory there, ahead of Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (+0.49) and France's Leo Anguenot (+0.68). Verdú called the race "complicated," citing mixed sections in the first run with errors, and a second that felt like "a fight with several mistakes in the middle," while emphasizing the need to persist.

In Zauchensee, Austria, Cande Moreno and Jordina Caminal struggled in Saturday's women's World Cup downhill amid intense snow, poor visibility—worsening late in the course—and a further shortened course below the reserve start used in Thursday training. Moreno, bib 53, finished 52nd in 1:09.34, 3.10 seconds behind winner Lindsey Vonn of the US (1:06.24), with partials of 47th, 53rd and 44th after an early first-sector error that killed her speed. Caminal, bib 51 on her World Cup debut, was 53rd in 1:09.46 (+3.22), recording 47th, 51st, 40th and 53rd partials as snow degraded sharply from bib 40. Moreno described it as "a very complicated race" due to a first-turn mistake that left her short of a top-20 goal, but targeted that mark in Sunday's noon super-G with a better bib. Caminal termed it "a war against the weather," valuing the debut for her upcoming European Cup speed races in Pass Thurn from January 12-15. Coach Xoque Bellsolà noted the extreme conditions from bib 40, praising Caminal's solid effort despite Moreno's major early blunder.

Sunday's super-G was cancelled due to snow, wind and low visibility, leaving only Thursday's training—from the reserve start—and a delayed Friday session before Saturday's shortened downhill. Both skiers now head to Pass Thurn for European Cup events this week.

Elsewhere, Xavier Cornella won the second FIS slalom in Valle di Casies, Italy, on Thursday in 1:18.73 for 23 FIS points, edging Italy's Hans Peter Picco by 0.12 seconds to match his December 29 Soldeu victory. Matteo Avesani was third, Bartumeu Gabriel sixth (+1.11), Àlex Rius eighth (+1.29).

Íria Medina raced in Women's European Cup giant slaloms in Sestriere, Italy, on Friday and Saturday (first runs 10 a.m., seconds 12:30 p.m.). Her season includes third at Pass Thurn (30.36 FIS points), top-10s in Kaltenbach, 35th and DNF in Mayrhofen, 63rd and DNF in Ahrntal slaloms, plus a Soldeu FIS slalom win.