Odermatt clinches super-G globe on day of Swiss dominance
Mar 22, 2024·Alpine Skiing
It has been a remarkable season for the men’s Swiss speed team, and on Friday in Austria, they reinforced their total dominance.
Their squad swept the podium in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, with Stefan Rogentin (SUI) first, Loic Meillard (SUI) second and Arnaud Boisset (SUI) third.
Marco Odermatt (SUI), meanwhile, continued to write history by finishing 5th and retaining the super-G crystal globe, as he quests to secure four globes in one season and break his overall points record.
Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), the only man who could have pipped Odermatt to the super-G title, finished 6th. Both racers were disadvantaged by late bibs on a slope that got baked by the sun and slowed down as the race went on.
Rogentin capped an excellent season, securing his first ever FIS World Cup win in his 100th start, with a clean, lightening fast performance. He generated huge speed at the bottom of the course, and even those with early starts, when the piste remained quick, could not catch him.
“I had a good feeling in the morning, and I just tried to ski very soft, it was a great run,” he said.
"The conditions were difficult, so the feeling was not so good, but in the end it was a good finish and a green light is always good.
“I am confident for Sunday. We will see how the weather is. I will try another one. First victory, and three Swiss guys, it is unbelievable.”
Meillard also continued a wonderful 2023-24. The Swiss racer has won in slalom and GS this season, and added his second super-G podium of the term here. He was smooth and left nothing on the hill to finish just +0.03 seconds adrift of his compatriot.
“It was not perfect but nobody does a perfect run in those conditions,” he said.
“I tried to push and do my best, so I was happy. It’s an easy run but difficult to be fast, you have to never try to sleep, you need to always be active.
“Three guys from Switzerland on the podium is special. It’s a great end to the season. It doesn’t mean I’m not happy to go on holiday soon, but everything worked well this season.”
Meillard will finish second in the overall points total. “Being on the overall podium is very special, and being 1-2 with Marco, it’s not happened before, so it’s something we will remember,” he said. “I will race the downhill on Sunday and have some fun.”
Boisset, meanwhile, showed that the future of Swiss skiing looks as glorious as the present, securing his first FIS World Cup podium. The 25-year-old, who won the super-G European Cup in Verbier earlier in the month, put in a muscular run to finish +0.15 seconds behind.
“It was a good run but it was difficult, the last race of the season after almost one month of rest,” he said. “I went to the European Cup race to stay in the rhythm.
"Today I really wanted to push this race. I’m happy to share this emotion with the two other guys.
“You never know in skiing, I asked Loic about his race [after finishing] and he said ‘we will wait’. It was long to wait, but it is crazy to be on the podium for the first time, I need to enjoy that, it’s amazing.”
Kriechmayr and Odermatt, meanwhile, came out the gates 14th and 15th respectively – and there simply wasn’t enough speed left in the hill for them to get on the podium.
Both performed as well as ever, but when the Austrian finished 6th, it meant that Odermatt already had enough points to win the super-G globe.
The Swiss superstar put in a typically bustling run, but couldn’t get on the podium with his compatriots this time around – only the second time this season he’d missed out on the top three in super-G.
He celebrated his globe win at the finish regardless, being presented with the glassware after the race. The points he accrued today, meanwhile means Odermatt can still break the overall season points total record he set last season if he wins the downhill on Sunday.
He was delighted to share a day of Swiss glory. “Rogi very deserved his first victory, Loic as well and Arnaud his first podium,” he said.
“I watched them at the start, they skied amazing. It was very tough to ski as fast as they did.
Today I didn’t need to, so I am very happy with my result and the next globe.”
Odermatt added that retaining this globe felt different to seizing it for the first time in 2022-23.
“Last season my super-G season was nearly perfect,” he said. “It was my first speed globe, so it was probably even a bit more special. But today I still had to fight for it. It was the first time I had to fight for the globe in the last race, we all know what can happen.
“We all know the story from Didier Cuche (SUI) some years ago, so I was still a little bit nervous and I had to bring it home.”
Does today’s achievement make Sunday’s mission – to win the downhill crystal globe, and beat his own points total – any easier?
“Yes, I think so,” conceded Odermatt. “I had a really good feeling on the skis. For sure it wasn’t that easy with the warm temperatures, but the feeling was still good and it gives me a lot of confidence for Sunday.
He will square off against Cyprien Sarrazin (FRA) for the downhill title.
"I hope it will be a fair race [on Sunday], not with one of us having bib 15 and the other one 6, it is a big difference and it would be sad to make the medal from the bib draws."
Kriechmayr himself recorded an impressive landmark: he now has finished in the top three of the super-G seven times – a feat that only Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) has surpassed, with eight.
As ever, he was gracious towards Odermatt. “He is impressive, it’s nice to watch him,” said the Austrian.
“I tried to push, it was difficult with the snow conditions. You don’t want to push too hard I tried to find a line but ski smooth. If I could get a second run, I could find two or three tenths, but victory was not possible.”
The downhill – the final action of the men’s FIS World Cup ski season – takes place in Saalbach-Hinterglemm at 11.30 on Sunday.
