Marco Odermatt outclassed today again the competition to achieve his third consecutive victory in Adelboden.
Odermatt impressively underlined his dominance in the Giant Slalom at the classic race in the Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden. The 26-year-old Swiss has won every Giant Slalom this season. He won the first World Cup Giant Slalom of the Season in Val d'Isère, and the following two held in Alta Badia.
Odermatt has won the Giant Slalom World Cup in Adelboden in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Ingemar Stenmark (four times between 1979 and 1982) and Hermann Maier (three between 1998 and 2001) are the only skiers to have won three or more consecutive Giant Slalom races in Adelboden. Marcel Hirscher also achieved the hat trick in Slalom from 2012 to 2014.
Odermatt has won each of the last seven Men's World Cup Giant Slalom events, since Marco Schwarz was victorious in Palisades Tahoe on February 25, 2023. This is the second-longest winning streak in men's World Cup Giant Slalom races, after a run of 14 by Ingemar Stenmark from 1978 to 1980.
Marco Odermatt is the absolute dominator of the discipline. He is the reigning Olympic Champion, World Champion, and Crystal Globe winner in the Men's Giant Slalom. Since December 7, 2020, in Santa Caterina Odermatt has won 18 Giant Slalom events in the World Cup. Among Swiss men, only von Michael von Grünigen (23) won more men's Giant Slalom World Cup events than Odermatt.
It's his 29th World Cup victory overall, the 18th in Giant Slalom.
"The victories here are something special. The first run worked perfectly for me with a one-second lead. Every victory in Adelboden was a little different. My self-confidence is high and with the experience I have now, I be able to win races like this. If you start in these conditions where you can’t see anything, maybe you don’t have to risk your life", Odermatt said.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde finished in second place +1.26 seconds behind Odermatt. It's his first podium in Giant Slalom in the World Cup.
"That's incredible, what a day. It wasn't easy, you hardly saw anything. I had a chance, and I took advantage of it. It’s really cool. Of course, Odermatt is in another league. But today tastes like a victory for me", Kilde said.
Filip Zubcic finished for a second time on a World Cup podium this season in Adelboden (+1.77). It's his 12th career podium. Zubcic finished on the podium four times in World Cup Giant Slalom in Adelboden, three of them in second place.
"In the first run, I didn't feel good, I made some stupid mistakes and I was slow. But I recovered in the second run, and it was enough for the podium", Zubcic said.