Marco Odermatt claimed another Giant Slalom victory today at Kranjska Gora. It's his 21st World Cup win. He finished 0.23 seconds ahead of Alexis Pinturault. Henrik Kristoffersen rounded out the podium in third place +0.37 seconds behind Odermatt.
Odermatt has competed in seven Men's Giant Slalom World Cup events this season and won five of these. He finished third in Alta Badia (18 December) and second in Palisade Tahoe (26 February).
The 25-year-old Swiss skier has reached the podium in each of the last 15 men's World Cup Giant Slalom events in which he started.
Marco Odermatt clinched his tenth win of the season in Kranjska Gora. He is the fourth skier after Hermann Maier, Stephan Eberharter, and Marcel Hirscher to have double-digit victories in a single season this century.
"I actually had a good feeling and didn't know that it was so tight. I might have been too direct once or twice and was too hard on a couple of gates, that's when you lose the pace. I got the maximum out of it, the Giant Slalom isn't over yet, but it looks pretty good", said Odermatt.
Odermatt is again the overall World Cup winner, his second and consecutive Overall Crystal Globe. The last three men to won in back-to-back seasons were Hermann Maier (1999-2000, 2000-2001), Stephan Eberharter (2001-2002, 2002-2003), and Marcel Hirscher (from 2011-2012 to 2018-2019).
The only Swiss man to have won the Overall World Cup multiple times was Pirmin Zurbriggen in 1983-1984, 1986-1987, 1987-1988, and 1989-1990. The other three Swiss Overall winners are: Peter Lüscher (178-1979), Paul Accola (1991-1992), and Carlo Janka (2009-2010).
Alexis Pinturault returns today to a Giant Slalom podium. Thanks to a dream run he jumped from fifth place to second. The last time he finished in the podium in this discipline was in Adelboden in January 2022. It's his 76 podium in the World Cup.
“It was a real fight to find the possibility and the technique again and on the new equipment to ski this well. I was getting better at the world championships but, I was always making a mistake and missing the podium. Today I achieved two good runs, especially the second and I could be on the podium again", said Pinturault.
After today's third place Henrik Kristoffersen is 140 points behind Odermatt in the Giant Slalom World Cup standings with 2 races to go.
The Norwegian finished on the podium in five of the eight Men's Giant Slalom World Cup events this season, third in Sölden, second twice in Alta Badia, and in Adelboden, and third in Kranska Gora today.
Kristoffersen has claimed 12 podium finishes in World Cup events in Kranjska Gora. Today's third place marks his 80th podium in the Word Cup.
"Being Norwegian and being such a techinal skier, I usually do well when there is spring snow and salt. There is no doubt about that. Still, here you have to ski good techinally and have to ski a fast turn. It is not like other places where you have to stay the whole way and fight to the finish. You have to ski a nice arc and ski a fast turn and I think that suits me well", said Kristoffersen.
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