Marco Odermatt Wins Fourth Giant Slalom Of The Season
All eyes were on the swiss rocket, Marco Odermatt, in today’s GS in Adelboden. Coming into the race, Odermatt had previously won three out of the four GS races this season and when he didn’t win, he placed 2nd. He finished his first run 0.31 seconds ahead of the two-time winner, Alexis Pinturault (FRA), and 0.50 seconds ahead of Filip Zubčić (CRO), who had placed 2nd in the last three GS races in Adelboden.
Heading into the second run, Odermatt was the last racer of the day to tackle the Chuenis and he did not disappoint. With a roaring crowd waiting for him at the finish, he pushed the limits on the course and took home the victory with a total lead of 0.48 seconds on Austrian, Manuel Feller.
In four previous giant slalom races at three different resorts this season, Odermatt had secured three victories and one second-place finish.
Coming into a home event in Adelboden, the Swiss superstar was looking to continue his incredible run and improve his lead at the top of the 2021/2022 FIS World Cup overall standings.
The 24-year-old proceeded to produce a flawless first round to take the lead, finishing 0.31 seconds ahead of Alexis Pinturault, the defending overall champion who won at Adelboden one year ago.
Starting his first run with bib 11, Manuel Feller put in two stellar runs today to claim his third GS podium of the season and his very first GS podium in Adelboden. He finished ahead of the Frenchman, Alexis Pinturault, by 0.08 seconds.
During the second round, Pinturault laid down a marker with an aggressive run but was pushed into second place when Austria’s Manuel Feller produced the fastest time of the day.
Cheered on by more than 13,000 fans, Odermatt knew he didn’t have to take any chances and duly cruised to victory, finishing 0.48s ahead of Feller who took second and Pinturault claimed third.
Odermatt said: "I really wanted to win today and give all the Swiss guys here a great show. Wow, I was nervous. And a little bit proud that I managed to ski down here twice like this.”
Odermatt now has five wins in total this season, including the Super-G in Beaver Creek last month, and has a significant lead in the overall standings. The Swiss ace has 845 points, while Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde trails by a massive 369 points. Austria’s Matthias Mayer is in third, with Pinturault in fourth.
It isn’t often that you can compete in a World Cup race on your birthday, let alone in your home nation, but today that was the case for Swiss skier, Justin Murisier. Murisier finished his first run in a joint position with Loic Meillard (SUI), however, put all of his cards on the table in the second run which landed him with a 4th place finish.
Not all racers were as lucky, Luca de Aliprandini (ITA) took a hard hit going through a gate and ended up crashing out. Nonetheless, the first medical conclusions look positive. Lucas Braathen (NOR) decided to stop halfway through his first run after feeling some strain on his knee. In the second run, Alexander Schmid (GER) unfortunately didn’t manage to finish his run after missing a gate.
