The Swiss Marco Odermatt is about to achieve his next coup in the giant slalom. The slippery steep slope caused a lot of excitement.
Marco Odermatt is ahead after the first run in the giant slalom in Bulgaria (1:10.09). However, the Norwegian Alexander Steen Olsen (+0.35) and the Austrian Manuel Feller are hot on his heels (+0.47).
The best German is Alexander Schmid, who is currently in ninth place (+ 1.25). ARD expert Felix Neureuther commented on the German’s run as follows: “He’s fighting. It wasn’t done optimally. There were small mistakes that cost time.”
Icy steep slopes caused problems for many
Schmid said after his run: “Overall, I’m relatively satisfied. The steep slope was a little smoother than one would have expected.” Several ace skiers clearly had problems and slipped on the aforementioned steep slope. Joan Verdú Sánchez from Andorra was even able to beat Odermatt’s time in the first part, but then slipped and was eliminated.
Schmid explained with regard to the ice on the steep slope: “It was a bit tricky. Yesterday the service men were allowed to go on the track and look at the slope. It was much more aggressive then. They watered it again overnight. Unfortunately, the information didn’t come to us. So it was surprising that it was so slippery on the steep slope again.”
In other words: The athletes were not told that the route was significantly icier than the day before due to the water.
Neureuther then commented on Schmid’s statements as follows: “It’s also interesting what he says. It’s not possible that the service people didn’t know. I knew what kind of stress the service people get when they see the ice. Not good.”