Ski racer Stefan Luitz has won the giant slalom of Beaver Creek and celebrated the first World Cup victory of his career. After nearly one year of injury - Luitz had torn the cruciate ligament in mid-December 2017 - Luitz occurred only for the second time in a World Cup race and won directly in his favorite discipline.
Luitz moved top favorite Marcel Hirscher (+0.14 seconds) and the surprisingly strong Swiss Thomas Tumler on the other podium finishes. 26-year-old Luitz is the 14th driver in the history of the German Ski Association (DSV) to win a race in the World Cup. The success of the DSV leads the currently injured Felix Neureuther with 13 wins, behind are Markus Wasmeier (nine) and Armin Bittner (seven).
The victory of Luitz is the conclusion of a weekend of ups and downs for the DSV. For the ladies, Kira Weidle was on the podium for the first time in the downhill of Lake Louise, Viktoria Rebensburg also managed to finish third in the Super G. The days overseas were overshadowed, however, by the severe injury of Thomas Dreßen. The best rider of the DSV tore himself in a fall, the cruciate ligament and will not be able to ski this season. But the success of Luitz shows what is possible after such a long break.