Odermatt wins key Super-G in Saalbach

Timing is everything, and Marco Odermatt picked the perfect time to turn in his best performance yet this season, winning the Audi FIS World Cup super-G in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The Swiss star finished a clear 0.62 seconds ahead of Matthieu Bailet and 0.81 seconds before super-G World Champion Vincent Kriechmayr.

Today’s win was crucial in Odermatt’s quest for the Overall World Cup. He narrowed the gap between himself and Alexis Pinturault to a vey slim 81 points with two weekends left in the season. Pinturault had a disappointing result today, having to settle for 15th place and losing many valuable World Cup points.

Amazingly, today only marked Odermatt’s third career World Cup victory, but this season has been consistent as it was his eighth podium of the year.

Meanwhile, Matthieu Bailet made his first major step in establishing himself on the World Cup circuit, as the 24 year-old Frenchman earned his first-career World Cup podium.

While the podium finish was positive for Vincent Kriechmayr, it was also a frustrating day for the Austrian as he could have wrapped up the super-G discipline globe, but will now have to wait until the Season Finals in Lenzerheide to see where the dust settles. Much like Pinturault, he has Odermatt breathing down his neck as Kriechmayr holds a 82-point advantage in the super-G standings.

Today was another day with excellent conditions for the racers. The icy course was challenging for several, but seemed to get faster as the day wore on as several lower bib numbers found themselves with top-20 finishes.

The final result definitely set up a thrilling showdown for many globes in Lenzerheide as the 2020-21 season will come down to the wire for many athletes. Before the Finals, there is one giant slalom and one slalom race yet to go in Kranjska Gora.