Perfect day for Swiss as Odermatt win sends Adelboden wild

Adelboden is the iconic place to race the giant slalom. With a sea of home fans in red – over 35,000 were partying on Saturday – the atmosphere as skiers bomb down the magical Chuenisbargli piste is akin to a wild football match.

Marco Odermatt (SUI), meanwhile, is currently close to being the perfect skier. He won here last year, achieving his childhood dream. This Saturday, though, was the ultimate marriage of venue and athlete, and perhaps Odermatt’s greatest win to date.

He put in an electric first run, but it was a mere aperitif for the second. The Swiss master looked in trouble on a number of occasions as he pushed the absolute limits, but somehow never lost velocity, and kept enough in the tank to attack the steep final section.

Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) was left 0.73 seconds behind in second place, with Loic Meillard (SUI) third (+1.66).

“It is just amazing, crazy, I could really enjoy the race today,” said Odermatt. “After last year I knew I can win this race, and now there are these emotions.

“I knew at the start I had to push because of Henrik. As always, I had to attack the race. I was really good at the top but then two, three, four times, I was really on the limit with the inside skis, and on the edge.

"But I thought ‘I can’t go out now, I have to fight’. If you don't risk you can't win.”

As he held it together, the cauldron erupted. The Adelboden partisans have their hero. After watching skiers from other nations win here for so many years – particularly Marcel Hirscher of Austria – the undisputed king of the hill is now Swiss.

“You can hear it, it is unbelievable,” said Odermatt. “It's one of the coolest races I've ever had. This is for sure the best place to celebrate a victory.

"The atmosphere is just amazing. Enjoy the afternoon, I hope you enjoyed the race and we did a good show for you.”

Odermatt the points machine
Kristoffersen knew that a very fast track would suit the homeland hero. “When it’s so straight in the second run I have no chance – he is way too good on these straight courses, and when he is in this shape and flying everything is really easy,” he said.

“I can't get him when he's in shape like this. He risked a lot. But I am the only one who is somewhere close to him, so that is good. I’m very happy.”

Loic Meillard (SUI) soaked up the jubilant atmosphere alongside his teammate. “To have two swiss guys on the podium at Adelboden is very special.

“Marco’s confidence is at the top level, and I am still building it up. But to be on the same podium, it shows we are on the right way.”

Odermatt’s victory was helped by the fact that Lucas Braathen (NOR), the only man to beat him in a GS so far this season, crashed out on the first run. He caught his arm on a gate that had been screwed in extra tight on a piste that was short of its usual amount of snow.

“I was unfortunate in the last two races,” said Braathen. “I’m in such good shape, I want to be threatening in every race, and small mistakes like that happen so rarely. It feels unfair but it can happen when you are on the limit.”

As Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) is doing something remarkable in the women’s sport, Odermatt stats are going off the charts in the men’s game.

This was his sixth win from 13 starts this season, and his fourth win from five GS races. He has only missed the podium in a race twice this term.

These result put Odermatt well ahead in both the GS and overall standings. With 1046 points from 13 races, he is averaging over 80 points per race.

It may yet still be early in the season, but Tina Maze’s record, of 2414 points across a single season (which included 11 wins), could come onto his radar.

Stats weren’t the point for the crowd in this corner of the Alps however. This was all about daring and panache – and they chanted “Odi, Odi’ long into the afternoon.

The action at Adelboden continues on Sunday with the men’s slalom.