First Giant Slalom World Cup Win in Beaver Creek for Marco Odermatt

After four starts, three of which resulted in a DNF, and a 27th-place finish as his best result, Marco Odermatt added the Giant Slalom World Cup at the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek to his list of wins. Alex Vinatzer came second, finishing 0.23 seconds behind the Swiss skier. It's his first World Cup podium in Giant Slalom. Henrik Kristoffersen rounded off the top three, finishing 0.34 seconds behind the winner.

It's Odermatt's fourth victory of the season in six races and his 28th victory in the giant slalom. He laid the foundation for his 49th overall World Cup win in the first run.

After today's win, Marco Odermatt leads the Giant Slalom standings alongside Stefan Brennsteiner with 200 points. Henrik Kristoffersen is third with 176 points.

"It's actually very special. I really wanted a podium or a victory here today in the Giant Slalom. My best place here was 27th, so I really had to improve that. It was a tough second run. It got bumpy, and I really needed my advantage from the first run. Already winning the Downhill here was a big thing on my list, and also the Giant Slalom today was somehow missing on my record, so I'm super happy," Odermatt said.

Kristoffersen finished on a Giant Slalom World Cup podium on four of the last five races. He was looking to achieve his first World Cup win in the USA.

"I've come second and third a few times and made it onto the podium, but I've never won on US soil. If I hadn't made a mistake before Screech Owl on the second run, it would have been close. However, we didn't put enough pressure on in the first run. The gap was too big, and then Marco skied a little more safely than we would have liked in the second run. He didn't make any big mistakes and had enough space to go on. We need to put more pressure on in the first run; then maybe there'll be a chance," Kristoffersen said.