Faivre back on top in Giant Slalom

Giant Slalom World Champion Mathieu Faivre found himself back on the top step of the podium today at the Audi FIS World Cup in Bansko.

After finishing in second place in yesterday’s giant slalom, Faivre got back to his winning ways in commanding fashion, topping Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt by 0.75 seconds. It was the Frenchman’s second career World Cup victory as he has put together the strongest three races of his career with three straight podiums, including the World Championship gold.

For Odermatt, today’s victory marks his seventh World Cup podium this season and keeps him in the hunt for the Overall World Cup title as he sits 210 points behind today’s third-place finisher Alexis Pinturault. Much closer is the battle between the same two men for the giant slalom discipline globe as Pinturault lost a bit of ground on Odermatt today, who now trails only by 25 points. It was also a very thin margin separating the duo in today’s race – Odermatt beat Pinturault by just 0.06 seconds.

Today was the second of two giant slaloms in Bansko and a Bulgarian resort offered up picture perfect conditions for both races with blue skies and plenty of sunshine greeting the field. The racers responded by providing exciting races, especially today’s second run, which saw the final 10 going all out for the valuable World Cup points.

The Audi FIS World Cup tour moves on Saalbach next weekend for a downhill and super-G. The next chance the super-G stars will take to the slopes is the following weekend in Kranjska Gora where one giant slalom and one slalom are scheduled.