Soelden Men's Alpine Ski World Cup Giant Slalom Preview

Marco Odermatt, Henrik Kristoffersen, and Loic Meillard. Picture: Erich Spiess / Red Bull Content Pool

Sölden has hosted a Men’s World Cup Giant Slalom race 23 times, with Ted Ligety leading the victories, having won four times in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015. Hermann Maier follows with three wins, achieved in 1998, 2000, and 2005. Marco Odermatt, who has victories in 2021 and 2022, could match Maier's three wins, as could Alexis Pinturault, who also has two. Ligety holds the record for the most podium finishes with seven, while both Odermatt and Pinturault have five podiums each.

The winners of the Sölden races in the last two Olympic years have also claimed the Giant Slalom Olympic gold in those seasons. In 2013, Ted Ligety won the Sölden race and later triumphed in the Giant Slalom event at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Similarly, Marco Odermatt secured victory in both the Sölden 2021 race and the Beijing 2022 Olympics.

Last season's Alexander Steen Olsen will not compete in this weekend's season-opening race. Steen Olsen continues to experience issues with his knee. After testing himself in Sölden in training, he decided to return to Oslo for further evaluation and treatment.

In 2024, Norway secured a podium clean sweep at the Giant Slalom season opener in Soelden, with Alexander Steen Olsen claiming the top spot, Henrik Kristoffersen finishing second, and Atle Lie McGrath coming in third in the battle for victory.

Last season, Marco Odermatt was again the absolute dominator of the Giant Slalom discipline. The reigning Olympic Champion won the Men's Giant Slalom Crystal Globe for the fourth consecutive time. Henrik Kristoffersen and Loic Meillard placed second and third in the standings for the discipline.

Odermatt (2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025) became the second Swiss male skier to win the Giant Slalom World Cup standings at least four times, after Michael von Grüningen.

If Marco Odermatt wins the Giant Slalom Crystal Globe in the 2025-2026 winter season, he will tie Ted Ligety for third place on the record list, with each having won five Globes. The record is held by Ingemar Stenmark with seven Globes, followed by Marcel Hirscher with six.

After failing to finish the first two Giant races in Sölden and Beaver Creek, Odermatt secured a podium position in the following seven races,  including three wins in Val d'Isere, Alta Badia, and Adelboden.

Marco Odermatt has achieved 26 victories in Giant Slalom Alpine Ski World Cup races, ranking him third on the all-time list, behind Ingemar Stenmark with 46 wins and Marcel Hirscher with 31 wins.

With eight World Cup wins last season, three discipline Crystal Globes (Downhill, Super-G, and Giant Slalom), and another Overall World Cup title, Marco Odermatt has once again demonstrated he is the most consistent and therefore the best ski racer of our era for the fourth consecutive time.

He finished the 2024-2025 winter season with 13 Crystal Globes (4 Overall, 2 in Downhill, 3 in Super-G, and 4 in Giant Slalom). With 13 Globes, Marco Odermatt has become the fourth most successful men's skier of all time. Marcel Hirscher with 20 Globes leads the way, Ingemar Stenmark is second with 18, and Hermann Maier is fourth with 14.

Last season, Odermatt became the most decorated Swiss skier of all time with his 84th World Cup podium, surpassing the legendary Pirmin Zurbriggen.

For the second season in a row, Marco Odermatt begins the new Winter season defending four World Cup titles: Overall, Downhill, Super G, and Giant Slalom.

The 28-year-old Swiss skier is aiming for his fifth consecutive big Crystal Globe. If he achieves this, he will tie for second place on the all-time list with Marc Girardelli from Luxembourg, who won five non-consecutive titles between 1984 and 1993. The record is held by Marcel Hirscher, who claimed eight consecutive titles from 2012 to 2019. who has eight (consecutive between 2012 and 2019).

Odermatt has won nine discipline globes, a total exceeded by only five male skiers. Ingemar Stenmark leads with 15, followed by Marcel Hirscher with 12, and Marc Girardelli, Pirmin Zurbriggen, and Hermann Maier each with 10.

Raphael Haaser won the gold medal in the Giant Slalom at the Alpine World Championships held in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.

This was Austria's ninth gold medal in the Men's Giant Slalom event at the World Championships. Marcel Hirscher won the last gold medal for Austria at the Alpine World Ski Championships in St. Moritz in 2017.

Haaser had never won or stood on the podium in a Giant Slalom event in the Alpine Ski World Cup. He has already finished on the podium five times, but all in the Super-G.

Only three times did the reigning Men's Giant Slalom World Champion not make it onto the podium in the opening race of the following season in Sölden.

In the 1996-1997 winter season, World Champion in Sierra Nevada Alberto Tomba did not start the Sölden race.

In the 2019-2020 season, reigning Giant Slalom Champion Henrik Kristoffersen finished in 18th place in Sölden.

In the 2021-2022 season, the recently retired Mathieu Faivre was in second place after the first run in Sölden but ultimately finished in 11th place.

The last Austrian skier to win the season opener in Sölden was Marcel Hirscher in 2014. He then went on to win both the Giant Slalom and the Overall World Cup titles. Sölden was Hirscher’s first of a total of five Giant Slalom victories and seven podiums in eight Giant Slalom races that season.

The last Austrian male skier to reach the podium in Sölden was Roland Leitinger in 2021. He finished second behind Marco Odermatt.

Last season, Henrik Kristoffersen finished in second position in the Giant Slalom standings. He claimed his fourth Slalom Alpine Ski World Cup Crystal Globe, having previously won the title in 2016, 2020, and 2022. He joined Alberto Tomba on four Slalom globes, behind only Ingemar Stenmark (8) and Marcel Hirscher (6).

During the 2024-2025 winter season, the 31-year-old Norwegian skier achieved four podium finishes in Giant Slalom and won a race in Kranjska Gora. It was Kristoffersen's 8th World Cup victory in the Giant Slalom. His victory takes Kristoffersen to 12th place in the all-time Men's Giant Slalom World Cup winners list, ahead of Pirmin Zurbriggen, Marc Girardelli, Phil Mahre, Massimiliano Blardone, Piero Gros, and Jean-Claude Killy, all of whom have seven wins. Kristoffersen surpassed in 2021 Kjetil André Aamodt (6) for most World Cup Giant Slalom wins in total among Norwegian skiers.

He stood on the Giant Slalom podium 36 times, achieving a total of 95 Alpine Ski World Cup podiums. Kristoffersen can surpass Marc Girardelli for fourth place on the all-time World Cup podiums list (100). He needs six more Top-3 finishes to accomplish this.

Norway achieved a remarkable feat by sweeping the podium in Sölden last season. This was one of two podium clean sweeps for Norway during the 2024-2025 season, with the second occurring at the Wengen Slalom, where Atle Lie McGrath, Timon Haugan, and Kristoffersen secured the top three positions.

The two Norwegian skiers to have won the Sölden Giant Slalom in the World Cup are Aksel Lund Svindal (2007-2008) and Lucas Braathen (2020-2021).

In 2022, Kristoffersen finished in third place in the Opening Giant Slalom in Sölden. He has raced nine times in Sölden, and before his podiums in 2022 and 2024, his best results were 5th place in 2020, sixth in 2015, and 8th in 2016.

Henrik Kristoffersen's impressive streak of scoring points in 24 consecutive Giant Slalom races came to an end last season when he failed to finish the second run in Adelboden. This remarkable achievement left him just one race shy of entering the all-time Top 10 list. The record is currently held by Marcel Hirscher, who achieved 66 consecutive races with points from the 2011-2012 to the 2018-2019 winter seasons.

Loic Meillard finished in third place in the Giant Slalom standings. The 28-year-old skier from Valais finished in second place in the Giant Slalom standings the previous season.

In March 2025, the 28-year-old Swiss skier displayed exceptional form, winning the season's last two Giant Slalom events in Hafjell and Sun Valley.

In Hafjell, Loic Meillard, Marco Odermatt, and Thomas Tumler celebrate a 1-2-3 victory. In the 2024-2025 winter season, Switzerland excelled in the Giant Slalom, winning six out of nine races: Marco Odermatt secured 3 wins, Loic Meillard 2 wins, and Thomas Tumler 1 win. They achieved a total of 12 podiums and 20 top-10 finishes. The three remaining wins were achieved by Norwegian skiers Alexander Steen Olsen with two wins and Henrik Kristoffersen with one win.

Last season, the weekend at Birds of Prey ended with a big surprise. Thomas Tumler secures his first Alpine Ski World Cup victory by winning the Giant Slalom at Beaver Creek. At the age of 35, after a total of 124 World Cup races, Tumler can finally call himself a World Cup winner. Tumler is the second-oldest Giant slalom winner in World Cup history after his Swiss compatriot Didier Cuche.

He achieved the last of his four podium finishes in the Giant Slalom in Hafjell and his first podium finish in Beaver Creek in 2018.

The Swiss duo of Thomas Tumler and Loic Meillard secured silver and bronze in the Giant Slalom at the Alpine World Championships held in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, finishing behind the winner Raphael Haaser.

Thomas Tumler finished in fourth position in the Giant Slalom standings.

The 2024-2025 Sölden race was a significant milestone as it marked the first time Lucas Pinheiro Braathen represented Brazil. He finished in fourth place, earning Brazil's first-ever World Cup points. Last season, Pinheiro Braathen also achieved second-place finishes twice in Giant Slalom and once in Slalom. However, he has yet to secure Brazil's maiden World Cup win.

In 2020, 22-year-old Norwegian sensation Pinheiro Braathen stole the show in the opening race of the 2020-2021 Audi FIS World Cup in Sölden when he edged out Swiss Marco Odermatt (SUI) by 0.06 seconds to claim his first victory and podium at the World Cup. At just 20 years old, he was also the youngest-ever winner at Sölden.

In his first race in Sölden back in 2019, he finished sixth; in 2021, he was 7th. Lucas Braathen was the second Norwegian skier to have won the Sölden Giant Slalom after Aksel Lund Svindal won in the 2007-2008 season.

Last season, Braathen finished in fifth position in the Giant Slalom standings.

Alexis Pinturault is set to return to the Alpine Ski World Cup in Sölden. With 34 victories, he holds the record as the most successful French skier in World Cup history. Pinturault is just three wins away from surpassing Benjamin Raich and Aksel Lund Svindal, both of whom have 36 wins. Achieving this milestone would place him eighth on the all-time list for overall World Cup victories. This ranking is topped by Ingemar Stenmark, who has achieved 86 victories in the Alpine Ski World Cup.

Pinturault won the Giant Slalom in Sölden twice, in 2016 and 2019. He also finished on the podium in second place in 2011 and 2013, and in third place in 2014.