'I didn't really believe it': Odermatt comes from the clouds to win in Schladming
Jan 23, 2024·Alpine Skiing
No one can beat Marco Odermatt (SUI) in giant slalom at the moment — not even himself.
The Swiss star seemed down and out after a big error in the first run on Tuesday night in Schladming, but he climbed all the way up from 11th spot to win his eighth consecutive World Cup giant slalom race and remain undefeated this season.
"It's crazy," Odermatt said after a determined second run saw him outlast the remaining 10 skiers in front of him, consigning Manuel Feller (AUT, +0.05s) to second and Zan Kranjec (SLO, +0.29s) to third.
"I hoped for it today but didn't really believe it after the first run, but that's sport," added Odermatt, who has now won 17 of his last 22 World Cup giant slalom races, reaching the podium in all of them.
Early on, however, it looked as though that podium streak, which dates back to March 2021, might finally come to an end in the first night race of the 26-year-old's World Cup career and his first race in the famous Austrian resort.
In the mid-section of his first run, Odermatt nearly went down on his inside ski, and although he recovered spectacularly to make the next gate and stay in the race, the damage seemed done as he fell to 11th spot, 0.98 seconds off Feller's lead.
But the Olympic champion didn't surrender and his second run, while not perfect by his incredibly high standards, was still nearly half a second faster than anyone else managed, and it gave him a clubhouse lead that he would not relinquish.
"I didn't try to do something very special, I knew I had to stay on the line, always push," Odermatt said of his mindset for the second run.
"The snow was difficult today, the tactic was not to go full, full, full attack, you really had to ski it clean and I managed this."
One by one, the best of the rest took their aim at Odermatt's time and came up short, leaving first-round leader Feller as the last skier left at the top of the mountain, seeking his first World Cup giant slalom victory.
The Austrian, winner of three slalom races already this season, held onto the green light at every intermediate split, but couldn't match Odermatt's power on the lower section of the steep pitch at the bottom and just missed out on the win.
"The first look at the timing wasn't that satisfying, but the second look was like, 'OK, it's a second place,'" said Feller, who has now finished second four times in World Cup giant slalom races, including three times behind Odermatt.
"He (Odermatt) is the best GS skier in the world over the last years, so even if it's five-hundredths of a second, I can take it," Feller conceded.
Kranjec moved up a spot after the first run to reach his third podium of the season by 0.04 seconds over Alexander Steen Olsen (NOR), getting back on track after finishing 21st in the last giant slalom race in Adelboden.
"For sure I always go for the victory but in the end I'm happy with third place, especially after Adelboden, which was not a good race for me," Kranjec said.
But after letting a golden opportunity for a potential victory slip away, Kranjec was left shaking his head at Odermatt's great escape.
"Even with mistakes, he comes back to win the race," Kranjec said. "Every time, he shows he's the best — he's the whole package."
