Marco Schwarz won today's Giant Slalom at Palisade Tahoe beating season's dominator Marco Odermatt by 0.03 seconds. Norwegian Rasmus Windingstad finished in third position 0.36 behind Schwarz.
The 26-year-old Austrian set the best time in the second run and celebrated his first World Cup victory in this discipline. Schwarz had finished third in the last two Men's Giant Slaloms: the World Cup in Schladming and the World Championships in Courchevel.
The last time the men raced at the Palisades Tahoe was in 1959. Then, also an Austrian was the winner, Reinhard Tritscher.
The last Austrian to win a World Cup Giant Slalom event was Marcel Hirscher in Adelboden on January 2019.
“Many thanks to the coaching staff. In the Giant Slalom this season I have noticed that the speed was right. I feel very comfortable in the Giant Slalom. We have worked a lot. I'm super happy now that everything works OK. Today I am very, very happy about my first Giant Slalom win", said Schwarz.
Marco Odermatt has reached the podium in each of the last 14 men's World Cup Giant Slalom events in which he started. He is the fourth man to claim a podium in 14 successive starts in Men's Giant Slalom events, after Ingemar Stenmark (37, 1977-1981), Marcel Hirscher (18, 2016-2018), and Alberto Tomba (14, 1990-1992).
Odermatt has competed in six Men's Giant Slalom World Cup events this season and won four of these. He finished third in Alta Badia (18 December) and second today in the Californian ski resort.
"The second run was really bad. I had too many mistakes to win so I was surprised it was enough for the podium. I had bad thoughts. The course setting on the second run was a little stupid for me. At the top it was so, so slow. You had to push three times in the flat and that Is not how ski racing should be. But the best guy won today with Marco and that’s racing", said Odermatt.
Today's podium is the third one in the World Cup for Rasmus Windingstad. He finished in second place in Kranjska Gora in the Giant Slalom in 2019, and won the Parallel Giant Slalom in Alta Badia on December 2019. Until today his best result this season was a 5th place on the Opening Giant Slalom in Sölden.
"It is nice. 2019 was the last time I was on a Giant Slalom podium, also with Marco. I switched brands to his, figuring I would follow his foosteps. There have been some rough patches but, today feels really nice. Hopefully I can bring it forward", said Windingstad.