Alpine ski World Cup 23/24: Marco Odermatt dramatically secures second Aspen giant slalom win in 24 hours
Odermatt kept up his unbeaten record in giant slaloms this season despite almost falling near the top of his second run.
Alpine Skiing
Marco Odermatt won his ninth giant slalom out of nine in the 2023/24 Alpine Skiing World Cup at Aspen, Colorado, on Saturday (2 March), but this was far from a routine victory for the Swiss hero.
Third after the first run, Odermatt somehow stayed upright and made the gate after a huge mistake near the top of his second descent.
Then followed a masterclass of skiing on an icy, rutted route which had caused no end of problems to his rivals. And after clinching a third consecutive giant slalom World Cup title on Friday, Odermatt again went to the top of the leaderboard where he would stay.
For the second time in consecutive days, Loic Meillard had to settle for second place behind his compatriot having been second at halfway.
First-run leader Alexander Steen Olsen was unable to deliver on the second run, slipping to 17th, with his Norwegian teammate Timon Haugan taking third for his first giant slalom podium finish.
Having been 14th after the first run, and the day after his first giant slalom top-10 finish, Alex Vinatzer produced a typically aggressive second descent to set a target which would prove tough to beat.
The Italian held the lead until his teammate Luca De Aliprandini - fifth to Vinatzer's sixth on Friday - eclipsed him again before Haugan moved ahead of them both. The countrymen both improved one place on 24 hours ago.
Odermatt has now won 12 consecutive World Cup giant slalom races, breaking the previous record of 11 set by Austria's Annemarie Moser-Proell in 1972-74. He also took his career World Cup win tally to 37, going into a clear seventh on the men's all-time list.
Last week, the 26-year-old clinched his third consecutive overall World Cup title with victory at Lake Tahoe, California.
Afterwards, Odermatt told FIS, "It's crazy. I really knew I had to attack because the other guys skied very well in the first run. I couldn't have the speed like they had so I knew I had to attack. I did but... I just kept fighting, kept pushing, risked it all in the second half of the race and once again I won. Incredible that it really works every time, I don't know why.
"The mistake happened in the steep part so I knew it was still possible (to win) but I got so low as well in the flat. I think I did very well in the last split again."
Some of Odermatt's opposition will be lining up in the slalom at Aspen on Sunday.
Aspen, FIS World Cup: Results from men's giant slalom, 2 March 2024 (top 10):
- Marco Odermatt (SUI) 2:03.20
- Loic Meillard (SUI) +0.34
- Timon Haugan (NOR) +0.58
- Luca De Aliprandini (ITA) +0.68
- Alex Vinatzer (ITA) +1.15
- Filip Zubcic (CRO) +1.23
- Zan Kranjec (SLO) +1.36
- Thomas Tumler (SUI) +1.40
- Atle Lie McGrath (NOR) +1.51
- Gino Caviezel (SUI) +1.81