River Radamus Claims First Career Podium While Marco Odermatt Secures Overall Crystal Globe With His Victory at Palisades Tahoe, CA

Expectations were high this Saturday, February 24, in Palisades Tahoe, California, for American skier River Radamus. A massive crowd had turned out to cheer on the local favorite on home soil and they were not to be disappointed. Radamus claimed his first-ever career podium on the Red Dog course, much to the joy of the adoring crowds, finishing in third place behind Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt and Norway’s Henrik Kirstoffersen.

Run 1

Giant Slalom races consist of two runs, with the top 30 skiers qualifying for run 2. The combined time of both runs counts for the final result. Marco Odermatt in bib 2 had skied into the lead on run 1, with a lead of almost two seconds ahead of Austrian Manuel Feller in bib 1. It was a time no subsequent skier was able to beat, however, Henrik Kristoffersen in bib 5 came close, crossing the finish line just 0.15 seconds behind Odermatt. River Radamus finished run 1 in third place, 0.63 seconds behind Feller and 0.78 seconds behind Odermatt.

Amongst the top 30 to qualify for run 2 were Radamus’ teammates Tommy Ford and Patrick Kenney. George Steffey and Isaiah Nelson did not qualify for run 2 while Brian McLaughlin crashed during run 1, but was seemingly uninjured.

Run 2

The second run is conducted in reverse order, meaning Radamus, Kristoffersen, and Odermatt were the last three skiers to go. Fifth-last starter Thomas Tumler was in the lead with a combined time of 2:13.19. Fourth-last skier Filip Zubjcic from Croatia, unfortunately, went too low before the steep question, causing him to miss the subsequent gate and ending his run with a DNF.

Then it was Radamus as third last skier, who shot out of the gate to the “USA, USA, USA” cheers across the mountain. It had been Radamus’ best first run, so hopes were high that he could make history and claim his first-ever podium. With a lead of almost half a second, the odds were good he could make the podium. Radmus lost some time on the top section but then made some milliseconds going into the steep section. Unfortunately, he lost some time on the steep section, but he was nevertheless able to squeeze out a 0.13-second lead on Tumler. The crowd at Palisades went wild and Radamus took it all in with raised arms. He let out a cheerful “Yeah!” and threw his pole triumphantly on the ground — this was his moment on home soil!

His lead was not long, as Kristoffersen put down a fantastic run, extending his lead on Radamus from run 1 on the steep section and finishing 1.25 seconds ahead of Radamus. His lead seemed almost in a league of its own, but there was still 26-year-old Odermatt to go.

Switzerland’s Odermatt had a 0.15-second lead on Kristofferson from run 1 and improved on it on the top section. But then Odermatt lost time on the mid-section, falling behind Kirstoffersen by 0.30 seconds, but then Odermatt managed to carry an incredible speed across into the bottom section, stealing the lead from Kristoffersen by 0.12 seconds.

The victory at Palisades Tahoe marks Odermatt’s 10th consecutive Giant Slalom victory — a feat only previously achieved by the one-and-only Ingemar Stenmark and Annemarie Moser-Pröll, who have 14 and 11 consecutive Giant Slalom victories to their name. Odermatt’s dominance in skiing meant that the 26-year-old secured this season’s Overall Crystal Globe one month ahead of the end of the season, with no other skier able to surpass him. Odermatt’s victory at Palisades Tahoe takes his points total to 1,702 points, which is exactly 1,001 points ahead of Austria’s Manuel Feller. With only five events left on the Men’s World Cup Calendar, there is no way for anyone to overtake Odermatt. It is the third year in a row the Swiss skier is claiming the Overall title.

But the day belonged to Radamus, who claimed his first-ever podium on homesoil, and the crowd was cheering “River, River, River” during the presentation in the finish area. The colorful Colorado native is having his best World Cup season to date, with four top-10 finishes this season and now his first-ever World Cup podium.