Industry News
Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt won the Giant Slalom at the FIS World Cup in Adelboden, Switzerland, on Saturday, January 6, 2024, after leading the field after run 1 by more than a second. Odermatt’s overall dominance at the event was only beaten by America’s River Radamus, who managed to put down the fastest second run of the day with 57.79 seconds, 0.12 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s talented ski racer. This catapulted the American from 20th place after Run 1 to fourth after Run 2. Giant Slalom races are held in two runs, with the top 30 ranked skiers from Run 1 qualifying for Run 2.
Run 1
Run 1 in foggy Adelboden was held on a shortened and slower-set race course due to the heavy fog. Odermatt led the field by more than a second after the first run, 1:04 seconds ahead of Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner and 1.15 seconds ahead of Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Team USA’s Tommy Ford was in 18th place 1.96 seconds behind Odermatt, while River Radamus was in 20th 2.01 seconds behind the Swiss and a mere 0.05 seconds behind his teammate. Brian McLaughlin narrowly missed out on qualifying for run 2 coming 32nd, while George Steffy and Isaiah Nelson had finished in 40th and 41st place.
Run 2
Run 2 is held in reverse order, meaning the top-ranked athletes from Run 1 will go last. River Radamus was 11th out of the gate on Run 2 and shot into the leader’s spot, which the American held for the next seven skiers until Croatia’s Filip Zubcic shot past the American by a mere 0.12 seconds. With the top 11 skiers still left to go, one could be forgiven for thinking that neither man would wind up in the top five, but skier after skier failed to beat the combined time set by the two. Then came third-placed Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who shot into the lead 0.51 seconds ahead of Zubcic. With only two skiers left to go, it was clear that Kilde had won his first-ever career podium in Giant Slalom. The Norwegian skier is typically more of a speed skier, dominating in Downhill and Super-G. Second-placed Brennsteiner struggled on his second run, losing almost two seconds to finish in 19th place overall. With only Odermatt to go, the home crowd was watching the screen in great anticipation as the course was too foggy to follow. The Swiss weaved down, extending his lead towards the bottom section and taking the win by 1.26 seconds ahead of Kilde.
This marks Odermatt’s seventh consecutive World Cup giant slalom victory and 18th career Giant Slalom victory, as well as the 29th World Cup victory across all disciplines. It is Kilde’s first-ever Giant Slalom podium, but the most impressive performance of today is probably River Radamus, who improved an incredible 16 spots from Run 1, although Zubcic’s improvement of nice spots is also very impressive. Fourth place is a personal best for Radamus. Meanwhile, France’s top skier Alexis Pinturault was missing today as the 32-year-old ski racer stayed home in France to witness the birth of his baby daughter.
The Men’s World Cup continues tomorrow at Adelboden with a Slalom event.
