Marco Odermatt wins Adelboden giant slalom in incident-packed race that saw Victor Muffat-Jeandet suffer nasty crash
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Updated 07/01/2023 at 16:05 GMT
Marco Odermatt won the giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland on Saturday, as Henrik Kristoffersen and Loic Meillard finished second and third respectively. The Swiss star now leads the overall standings by 400 points as he chases his second world title. The race did not spare casualties, with Joan Verdu and Victor Muffat-Jeandet suffering heavy hits on the tricky course.
Odermatt overcomes ‘ragged’ mistake to win Adelboden giant slalom
Marco Odermatt won the giant slalom in an action-packed race in Adelboden, Switzerland on Saturday.
Loic Meillard gave himself a glimmer of hope when he shot to the top of the leaderboard to secure a podium finish with two riders to race.
But Henrik Kristoffersen quickly ended the 26-year-old’s hopes of winning a first giant slalom World Cup when he edged the home rider by 0.93s.
Odermatt produced a stunning finale to back up his previous run and secure the victory.
He led after the first leg by 0.32s, with Kristoffersen and Meillard narrowly behind the Switzerland racer.
Joan Verdu felt the full force of the airbags that line the Adelboden course when he was the first big crash.
There was a roar of relief from the crowd at the foot of the course as he reappeared following a tense moment of little movement after he became wedged between two airbags.
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Odermatt: The atmosphere was just amazing
Young Italian racer Filippo Della Vite, 21, put in an encouraging performance to take the lead during the second run but his lead was almost instantly snatched from him by Filip Zubcic by 0.03s.
Marco Schwarz then produced a blistering performance to take a healthy 0.77 lead.
After a far-from-perfect start, the Austrian dug deep and showed self belief to rediscover his good form and take control at the top of the leaderboard.
“Really happy with the second run,” Schwarz said after his second run. “Really fun, the slope was in really good condition, it was a little bit dark from visibility.”
He breathed a sigh of relief when Aleksander Aamodt Kilde threatened his top spot but could only manage a second-best effort to sit behind Schwarz by 0.43s.
Zan Kranjec was able to dismantle Schwarz’s lead, though, with a time of 1:14.36 to gain the advantage.
The competition was on hold for a lengthy period after Victor Muffat-Jeandet‘s knee caught a gate and sent him flying into the net lining of the course at high speed.
The French racer was significantly injured after suffering a heavy hit to the head, where blood could be seen streaming from his nose as he was stretchered down the remainder of the slope.
Gino Caviezel gave it everything to temporarily squeeze into the podium positions, ousting Kilde who dropped outside of the top three as the light began to fade.
Manuel Feller avoided a repeat of Muffat-Jeandet’s incident when his knee clipped the gate, but he managed to stay on his feet and post an overall best time of 1:14.25 to become the new leader.
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Fulled by the roar of the crowd, Switzerland’s Meillard shot to the top of the standings in a bid to land his first giant slalom World Cup win with two riders to go.
The Swiss crowd held their breath, but Kristoffersen quickly took advantage before Odermatt battled to produce a memorable run and take the win.
Odermatt leads the standings by 400 points as he closes in on his second overall World Cup title.
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