Giant slalom in Val d’Isère – Odermatt shows everyone – Aerni narrowly misses the podium – Sport

Marco Odermatt is back in his flagship discipline in Val d’Isère. He wins a chaotic giant slalom.

The best

• 1. Marco Odermatt (SUI)
  2:11,66
• 2. Patrick Feurstein (AUT) +0,08 s
• 3. Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT) +0.12 s
• 4. Luca Aerni (SUI) +0.23 s

Marco Odermatt really started his season in the giant slalom after a bit of a delay. The man from Nidwalden found his way back to victory after the failures in Sölden and Beaver Creek. In Val d’Isère he is now used to it: he won in gray, wintry conditions including snowfall for the fourth time in a row and bagged his 39th World Cup victory.

With his success, Odermatt prevented a chaotic race from having a completely crazy outcome. The piste suffered badly in the second run. Various drivers, including Loïc Meillard and Thomas Tumler, paid tribute to the changed conditions and fell back significantly after promising placements.

Odermatt, however, managed to reach the finish line by 8 hundredths of a second from a lead of 2.49 seconds over Patrick Feurstein. The Austrian started the second round in 24th place. His compatriot Stefan Brennsteiner secured third place behind him.

Luca Aerni also benefited from the opportunity. In 30th place, he had barely made it into the decision and made the most of the early start number. He gained 26 positions and achieved by far his best giant slalom result of his career in 4th place. Previously this was a 21st place (2017 in Alta Badia). He was 11 hundredths short of the podium.

The other Swiss

• 9. Loïc Meillard +0.57 s
• 11. Gino Caviezel +0,84
• 25. Thomas Tumler +1.80
• Not in the 2nd run: Fadri Janutin (33rd), Livio Simonet, Sandro Zurbrügg (both out)

Meillard had flirted with a podium place as third in the first run. The Valaisian was still able to make it into the top 10 in 9th place. Gino Caviezel narrowly missed this in 11th place. Tumler, who was still the brilliant winner in Beaver Creek, was a big loser in 25th place. He lost 19 places compared to the first round. Aerni’s best running time in the weather lottery was a whopping 4.25 seconds.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen also had a dark day. The red start number of the leader in the giant slalom World Cup seemed to hinder rather than inspire him in the first run (21st place). He was eliminated in the second run.

This is how it continues

The slalom takes place in Val d’Isère on Sunday. The next date in the men’s World Cup will follow soon: a Super-G and a downhill will take place in Val Gardena next Friday and Saturday.

World Cup Men