He doesn’t let up. Marco Odermatt won his next World Cup victory in the giant slalom on Friday (March 1, 2024) in Aspen (USA). The competition took place to compensate for the canceled giant slalom in Sölden.
Odermatt now has a whopping ten victories in a row in the giant slalom across all seasons. The Swiss dominator, who won the big crystal ball early last Sunday, also won in Aspen, ahead of compatriot Loic Meillard and the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath. However, the gap to Meillard was only 0.14 seconds after minor driving errors. DSV driver Alexander Schmid was eliminated in the first round.
The victory brings Odermatt ever closer to the historical record set by ski icon Ingemar Stenmark. The Swede once achieved 14 giant slalom victories in a row. The giant slalom in Sölden was rescheduled on Friday. The regular competition follows on Saturday.
Two crystal balls for sure: Odermatt wants to break records
With his victory on Friday, Odermatt is also confirmed as the winner of the small crystal ball in the giant slalom. The 26-year-old is also at the top in the downhill and super-G. If he also wins these disciplines, the Olympic champion would become the first ski racer to win three crystal balls in one season since the Austrian Hermann Maier 23 years ago.
Maier’s record for the largest lead in the overall World Cup (743 points) is also in danger of falling. Odermatt (1,802 points) is currently over 1,000 points ahead of Manuel Feller. And the record for most wins this season (13) is also wobbling. So far, Odermatt also has 13 successes.
Feller out injured – no danger of slalom on Sunday
Feller, second in the overall World Cup and leader in the slalom rankings – had to stop his first run due to an injury. The Austrian immediately held his back. However, a cancellation for the slalom on Sunday is not an issue. “The back has already done a bit,” said Feller on ORF: “Of course that’s not an advantage, but it turned out well again. Regenerate well tomorrow and then do a good slalom.”
Kitzbühel and Schladming winner Linus Straßer is in second place in the slalom rankings, but already over 200 points behind Feller – with only three races left. Surprisingly, Straßer made it into the second round of the giant slalom on Friday. The Munich native rarely competes in this discipline and ended up 25th. One place behind, another German, Anton Grammel, finished in the points.