Giant slalom specialist Alexander Schmid raced into the top ten on his comeback. A Swiss man is in the lead before the final.
Ski racer Alexander Schmid made a strong comeback in the snow at the giant slalom in Val d’Isere after tearing his cruciate ligament and taking a nine-month break due to injury. “I have been working towards this moment for a long time,” said the 29-year-old from Oberstdorf.
Schmid: “Fight, fight, fight
At the first start of the season, the Allgäu native had to tackle one of the most difficult routes in the World Cup circuit. Schmid started the course aggressively, a mistake shortly before the finish cost him time, but the Allgäu native (+1.95 seconds) pulled through and finished ninth. Before the final run, he was only 1.2 seconds short of a podium finish. “It demanded everything from me,” he said after the first round. He still has physical deficits, so for him now it’s “fight, fight, fight.”
Odermatt has the course under control
After the race was canceled at the start of the World Cup in Sölden, it is only the second giant slalom of the season for the ski racers. And it had it all right away. The course was extremely twisty. Marco Odermatt came through the gates best. The Swiss (1:10.17 minutes) took the lead in the competition with a lead of 0.65 seconds over Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) and Loic Meillard (+0.75)/SUI). “Val d’Isere is a battle from top to bottom,” analyzed Odermatt.