Val d’Isère: Marco Odermatt roars again in Dantean conditions!

Marco Odermatt quickly dispelled doubts after his three successive eliminations in giant. The Nidwalden won for the fourth time in a row in Val d’Isère in the discipline, in Dantean conditions. Luca Aerni, for his part, took an improbable 4th place, after a superb comeback.

Coming out in the second round on Sunday at Beaver Creek after making a mistake on the first track in March in Saalbach then in Sölden in October, Marco Odermatt signs his second success of the season, the 39th in total. He triumphs for the 24th time in giant, which makes him the No. 3 male in history tied with Ted Ligety.

With 39 victories over the White Circus, “Odi” also finds himself one step behind the Swiss record holder in this area, Pirmin Zurbriggen. He will have the opportunity to match the Valais legend before Christmas, in Val Gardena (where a downhill and a super-G are planned next Friday and Saturday) or during the giant Alta Badia on December 23.

The luck factor

“It takes a big weight off my shoulders,” reacted Marco Odermatt at the microphone of SRF. “In recent years, many things have been taken for granted. Not just by the media and fans, but also by myself. It is clear that we will not be able to continue winning after victory,” he admitted.

In the lead after the first round, Marco Odermatt had a margin of 2”49 over provisional leader Lukas Feuerstein when he set off on the second course. Caught in a snowstorm, he had to fight to maintain a 0”08 lead over the Austrian, who had benefited from much better visibility conditions.

Starting in seventh position on the second course, Feuerstein certainly didn’t think he would get on the podium when he took the lead with a 0”15 lead over Luca Aerni. But it took all the mastery of Marco Odermatt to deprive Austria of a double, Stefan Brennsteiner finishing 3rd at 0”12.

“When you lose three seconds or more in a second heat, it’s easy to find yourself far behind,” explained Marco Odermatt. “It shows that luck was on my side. Today was brutally demanding. I saw Lucas (Aerni) race, and I said to myself that it was incredibly strong,” he continued.

Aerni’s comeback!

Last starter in the morning with his bib 62 and final qualifier with the 30th time, Luca Aerni was able to seize his chance for his eleventh start in a World Cup giant. The Valais slalom rider, who benefited from precious and rare rays of sunshine in the second run, made a superb “comeback” by achieving the best time.

Aerni, who scores points for only the fourth time in a giant, signs his best result in the discipline at the age of 31. The 2017 combined world champion had until now never done better than 21st in giant, almost seven years ago (December 14, 2017, at Alta Badia).

Meillard 9e

The hero of the day notably beat Loïc Meillard, 3rd after the initial round, as well as the winner of Beaver Creek Thomas Tumler, 6th in the morning. Meillard limited the damage by ranking 9th, Tumler falling to 25th place. Another Grison, Gino Caviezel, 14th on the first route, did rather well with an 11th place.