Back-to-back Downhill win in Wengen for Marco Odermatt. After achieving his first victory on the discipline on Thursday Marco Odermatt took the double win in the Lauberhorn. Only Cyprien Sarrazin, second today (+0.59), looks to be able to threaten Odermatt's dominance. Before Odermatt, only Marc Girardelli has won in 1989 two Downhill races in Wengen in the same year.
He celebrated his 31st World Cup win ahead of the French and Dominik Paris (+1.92). Of the 12 races he competed this season, he won 7 and finished on the podium in 4 more. A seventh place in the Val Gardena Downhill was his worst result.
On Thursday Marco Odermatt became the first male skier to win a Giant Slalom, a Super-G, and a Downhill World Cup race in a single season since Didier Kuche achieved this feat in the 2009-2010 winter season.
With his seventh victory of the season, Odermatt considerably extended his overall lead in the World Cup and also distanced himself from his now main rival Sarrazin in the Downhill World Cup.
"Brilliant. It was an absolute dream run, the emotions at the finish were unique. I was able to manage everything. I don't think I could drive it any better again. I came into the finish and I knew this would probably be hard to beat. I don't think I've ever crossed the finish line with a lead of two and a half seconds before", Odermatt said.
"Still a bittersweet day for sure when you see a friend, like Alek crashing that hard. I hope he is a little bit well, even if it didn’t look so good. It was a very hard week for all of us, especially if you were sick like he was. Maybe the energy level was not high enough for today. To see a friend crash like this, it’s always very, very sad", ” Odermatt added.
Cyprien Sarrazin was second in both Downhills in the Lauberhorn and was the only man who looked capable of beating Odermatt.
"I did great mental training during the summer and thanks to that I can fight with Odi and that’s awesome. I didn’t change anything, I just found myself. I feel good even if I am really tired and my knee hurts a lot. I feel bad for Alek", Sarrazin said.
Dominik Paris rounded up the podium. "For me, the podium was OK. I felt well about the way I skied but when I saw the time I was a lot behind, the distance was too much. I lost too much time in the Kernen S again, always the same. But the rest of the course I think it was good skiing", Paris said.
For the third time on an otherwise perfect ski weekend in Wengen, a skier falls badly. This time it's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. On Thursday, 26-year-old Swiss Marco Kohler seriously injured his knee. On Friday, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault (32) suffered a violent crash.
After Marco Schwarz (torn cruciate ligament), Kilde is Odermatt's second competitor in the fight for the overall World Cup taken out of the race due to an injury.