Kristoffersen takes GS to deny Pinheiro Braathen a first-ever Alpine skiing World Cup win for Brazil

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Henrik Kristoffersen won his first World Cup giant slalom in three years on Saturday, denying runner-up Lucas Pinheiro Braathen what would have been Brazil's first ever top-level victory in Alpine skiing.

Pinheiro Braathen improved from seventh after the opening run as he led the race with only first-run leader Kristofferson to come down.

The Norwegian lost more than half of his advantage but still finished a commanding 0.41 seconds ahead of his former teammate, who switched nations and returned to the circuit competing for Brazil this season after a year off.

“For sure, it means a lot. It was a really nice race, really good conditions,” Kristoffersen said.

The Norwegian was the 2018 Olympic silver medalist and 2019 world champion, and had his eighth World Cup win in the discipline but first since triumphing here in March 2022.

Swiss star Marco Odermatt, who trailed Kristoffersen by 0.15 after the opening run, dropped to third.

Odermatt smashed a ski pole against the boarding of the finish area after he finished 0.11 behind Pinheiro Braathen.

“When you start with an advantage, you want to keep it until the finish," said Odermatt, who is the Olympic and three-time World Cup GS champion.

No other skier than Kristoffersen or Odermatt has won in the seven GS races held on the Podkoren course since 2019, with the Norwegian winning it four times.

Pinheiro Braathen came close to ending the streak but had to settle for his fourth podium result since his switch to the Brazilian federation.

Joan Verdu of Andorra was third after the opening run but finished ninth.

River Radamus placed 12th after posting the second-fastest time in the final run on the hill where his former teammate Ted Ligety won a record six times between 2008 and 2014.

World champion Raphael Haaser finished seventh in his first race since winning gold on home snow in Saalbach-Hinterglemm two weeks ago.

The Austrian men’s team has not won any of the 34 World Cup races since Manuel Feller won a slalom in February 2024, matching its worst series of winless events in 1991-92.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, winner of an an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, and third-placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt congratulate each other at the finish area, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, center ,winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, left, and third-placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, listens to the national anthem, next to second-placed Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, left, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, left, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, hugs second-placed Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Raphael Haaser competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Andorra's Joan Verdu competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.

NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century.

The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds. A green aurora even glows, according to NASA.

“It’s great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image," said NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins, an exploration systems leader. She added the mission was going well.

As of late Friday afternoon, Wiseman and his crew were more than 110,000 miles (180,000 kilometers) from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) to go. They should reach their destination on Monday.

The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping. They fired Orion's main engine Thursday night that set them on their course.

After Mission Control shifted the position of their capsule, the entire Earth complete with northern lights filled their windows.

“It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks,” Wiseman said in a TV interview.

They're the first lunar travelers since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

This image taken from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Canadien astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they appear on a video conference from the moon's orbit Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This image provided by NASA shows a downlink image of Earth taken by NASA’s Artemis II astronaut commander Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule on Friday, April 3, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from of the Orion spacecraft's window after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)