The Swiss ski star Marco Odermatt shocked the competition with a fabulous run in the first downhill run of the Olympic winter. The 28-year-old secured his 48th World Cup victory and the third of the season on a shortened route in Beaver Creek in the US state of Colorado.
“I’m very satisfied,” said the giant slalom Olympic champion: “The feeling was very good. The ski fit perfectly, if you feel that, little can happen.” He called the fact that he won the first race of the season in the giant slalom, super-G and now in the premier discipline “cool” and said: “You can see that everything is going well.”
Only local hero Ryan Cochran-Siegle (+0.30 seconds) was able to follow Odermatt halfway on the “Raubvogel” slope. The Norwegian Adrian Smiseth Sejersted (+0.69) came third, directly ahead of world champion Franjo von Allmen (Switzerland/+0.85). Romed Baumann (1.85) had little chance of a top placement due to the fading route, flat visibility and increasing wind and did not make it into the top 15.
Odermatt won the race on the steep slope and middle section. Former Kitzbühel winner Josef Ferstl enthused at “Eurosport” that he drove “brutally”, even “inhumanely”. As Odermatt rode through the curves using the finest giant slalom technique, Ferstl exclaimed: “I’m crazy?! He’s starting a new era!”
The organizers in Beaver Creek had and are struggling with the weather conditions. The departure had to be brought forward from Friday to Thursday and shortened by around 25 seconds. On Thursday it was also decided to bring the Super-G forward from Saturday to Friday (7:15 p.m.). Saturday, when a lot of snow is expected, is a reserve day; on Sunday, a giant slalom concludes the racing week.