The 70th 3Tre in Madonna di Campiglio has just experienced the first act of the night slalom, greeted on the evening of Friday, December 22, by the warmth of a large crowd at the Canalone Miramonti slope.

Taming the perfect snowpack was Frenchman Clement Noel, Olympic champion in the discipline, the best in generating speed on the rhythmic course designed by Swedish trainer Enocson, and capable of overcoming an error on a treacherous long gate at the end of the wall, which challenged more than one athlete.

Two athletes are tied in the wake of the Frenchman: the surprising Norwegian Timon Haugan and Swiss Loic Meillard, who started with bib number 1, both 37 hundredths behind the Frenchman. In fourth place, was the brilliant Bulgarian Popov (+0.42), fifth the Swiss Daniel Yule at 47 hundredths, who will be chasing his fourth 3Tre victory in the second run set by his coach, Italian Matteo Joris.

Only twelfth was the other multiple 3Tre winner, the Norwegian Kristoffersen (+0.87), ahead of Alex Vinatzer with 91 hundredths behind, the best of the Italians in a run that was otherwise stingy with satisfaction for the home athletes.

In addition to Vinatzer, only one other Italian managed to qualify for the second run: local favorite Stefano Gross, who clinched the thirtieth time at 1.94, and will be the first to leave the gate for the second run at 20:45 (CET). Thirty athletes within less than two seconds are a testament of the excellent conditions of the slope prepared by the team led by Adriano Alimonta, on which even athletes with high starting numbers could play their cards in the best of ways.

Everything will still be in play in the second run, with Noel credited with a significant, but certainly not decisive, advantage, especially in slalom. After all, the Frenchman still burns with the memory of the 3Tre 2021, when exiting at the last gate made a victory that seemed secured slip away.