Local hero Marco Odermatt sets off fireworks in front of frenetic Swiss fans and leaves his competition stunned. Three DSV drivers finished in the points, Alexander Schmid even made it into the top 10.
Although both runs had been shortened in advance due to the thick snow on the Chuenisbärgli, Dominator Odermatt had a full 1.26 seconds lead over second-placed Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Croatian Filip Zubcic (+1.77 seconds).
The winner was actually already decided in the first round. Almost all competitors looked towards the leader box at Odermatt in disbelief because of their huge gap in the finish area. The 26-year-old confidently defended his lead of over a second all the way to the finish in the afternoon, amid loud shouts of “Odi, Odi” from the Swiss.
Schmid is still in the top 10
Thanks to a good second run and worsening visibility for the competition, Alexander Schmid was able to improve from 17th to tenth place (+2.28). Fabian Gratz (Altenau) in 26th place (+3.56) and Jonas Stockinger (Herzogsreut) in 28th place (+4.09) also scored points. Stefan Luitz (Bolsterlang) narrowly missed the second round in 31st place.
Neureuther enthuses: “Everyone loves him”
Odermatt had a perfect first run into the mountain with start number three and once again demonstrated his special position. “What’s he putting down again? How straight can you drive into the gates?” asked ARD expert Felix Neureuther in the live commentary: “Everyone loves him, you can’t help but love him.”
Odermatt dominates on all levels
In Alta Badia before the turn of the year, Odermatt celebrated his third victory in the third giant slalom of the season. He was over a second ahead of his biggest competitor Marco Schwarz, who, however, suffered a torn cruciate ligament with meniscus damage in Bormio and will be out for the rest of the season.
Marco Odermatt is literally the measure of (almost) all things. He leads the ratings in the downhill, the Super G and the giant slalom – logically he is also at the top of the overall ranking. In the giant slalom he was on the podium 22 times in a row.
Alexander Schmid too cautious
Alexander Schmid initially chose a cautious driving style; the Oberstdorf native had not previously trained in fog in the Bernese Oberland and had corresponding problems on the route. “The visibility is a challenge, but it’s the same for everyone,” said Schmid after the first run on ARD: “I also had to search a bit while driving. But I should have approached it a little straighter.”
Adelboden “one of the hottest races”
Nevertheless, Schmid was enthusiastic about the atmosphere in Adelboden: “It’s one of the hottest races of the season, especially when you have such a figurehead in Odi (Odermatt).”