'A different race today': Odermatt back on top with Sunday super-G win
Jan 28, 2024·Alpine Skiing
After a surprising one-day hiatus from the podium on Saturday, it was back to business as usual for Marco Odermatt (SUI) on Sunday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Odermatt returned to his winning ways in the second super-G race in the German resort, claiming his ninth victory of the season in all disciplines and putting one hand on the super-G crystal globe in the process.
On a faster, harder Kandahar piste than Saturday's soft track, Odermatt was in a class of his own to finish 0.30 seconds ahead of runner-up Raphael Haaser (AUT), with 22-year-old Franjo Von Allmen (SUI, +0.61s) finishing third to make his first World Cup podium in just his 12th race.
"It was a different race today," said Odermatt, whose fourth place on Saturday broke his equal-record streak of 12 consecutive World Cup super-G podiums.
"The snow was better than yesterday and like this I also could push," he added.
The two-time defending overall World Cup champion was not quite back to his absolute best on Sunday, but he was close enough to it to claim victory.
After a near-perfect top section, Odermatt made a couple of errors after the jump, skiing late in the racing line in the most technical section of the course but somehow managing to retain his speed and increase his lead.
"I knew the slope is big enough, the snow is good also next to the line, and I was also two-three times next to the line but I knew I can come back after the gate," the 26-year-old explained.
With only two super-G races remaining this season, Odermatt leads Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) by 121 points and seems almost a lock to defend his title. Odermatt also leads the giant slalom, downhill and overall standings.
"If you win a race it's always good for the standings but still two more to go, it's not done yet, but for sure it's a big step ahead," Odermatt said.
The Swiss star's biggest challenge on Sunday came not from Kriechmayr, who finished fourth, but from the Austrian's teammate Haaser, who used the fastest time in the tricky third sector to power into second place.
While it wasn't quite enough for what would have been his first World Cup win, it was the 26-year-old's second runner-up finish in super-G this season.
"Especially in the lower part, I felt very comfortable, it looked like I had a really solid run," said Haaser, who managed only 15th on Saturday.
"I had a really bad mistake yesterday so I think that's the solution (for a better result on Sunday)."
While the faster course suited Haaser and made for fewer upsets than Saturday's wild race won by Nils Allegre (FRA), youngster Von Allmen provided the biggest surprise as he topped Kriechmayr by just 0.03 seconds to finish third.
Skiing with the lowest bib number of his career at No. 17, Von Allmen smashed his previous career high of ninth place, set in in the Val Gardena super-G in December and matched on Saturday, to join teammate Odermatt on the podium.
"In the finish I was like, 'Wait, what?'" Von Allmen said when he saw that he had skied into a podium position.
"I think if somebody told me before the season, I wouldn't have believed it. But now it's real, it's amazing."
Von Allmen won't have an immediate chance to build on his momentum after the cancellation of the two downhill races in Chamonix next Friday and Saturday, but a weekend off is a welcome surprise for Odermatt as he looks to recharge his batteries for the last portion of the season.
"I think most of the guys, and especially me, need a break," he said.
