FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Giant Slalom - Bansko, Bulgaria - February 10, 2024 Switzerland's Thomas Tumler in action during his run REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
(Reuters) - Swiss racer Thomas Tumler got his long-awaited maiden World Cup win at the age of 35 on Sunday, taming a challenging Beaver Creek course with a pair of pristine runs in a men's giant slalom.
"I have no words at the moment; it's like a dream," said Tumler who joined the World Cup circuit in 2012 and had finished on the podium just three times in 123 previous races.
Tumler had a combined time of two minutes 27.60 seconds, 0.12 seconds faster than Lucas Pinheiro Braathen who became the first Brazilian man to get a World Cup podium finish. Slovenian Olympic silver medallist Zan Kranjec (2:28.18) was third.
Tumler's win completed a Swiss sweep this year at the Colorado resort, with Justin Murisier winning the downhill on Friday and Marco Odermatt Saturday's Super-G.
Tumler led the standings after a flawless opening run in 1:16.24, more than half a second clear of the rest of the field.
Braathen refused to let him run away with the victory, however, shaving nearly seven seconds off his own opening-leg time to finish his second run in 1:10.41 and take brief control of the top of the leaderboard.
Braathen, who was born in Oslo and previously skied for Norway, changed allegiance after briefly retiring a year ago and was overcome with emotion when it became clear he would get on to the podium.
Tumler's skis wobbled midway through his final run but the Swiss held his nerve, doing just enough to hold off the rest of the field before cheering and collapsing on to the snow in joyous celebration.
World Cup holder and Olympic champion Odermatt was on the hunt for his third podium finish of the weekend in Beaver Creek after taking second place in Friday's downhill, but he caught an edge and slipped early in his second run and did not finish.
Competitors enjoyed sunny conditions a year after adverse weather forced the Beaver Creek races to be called off.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)
