Dhe finish stadium at the foot of the legendary Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden was like a madhouse. At the giant slalom classic in the Bernese Oberland, ski star Marco Odermatt was in a class of his own in light snow and fog. The Swiss drove to his 29th World Cup victory in front of his 25,000 enthusiastic compatriots, the third in a row in Adelboden and the seventh in a row in the giant slalom.
“Incomprehensible. Brilliant! What he’s doing right now is from another planet,” said ARD expert Felix Neureuther about the gala of the 26-year-old Olympic champion and double world champion. With a lead of 1.26 seconds over the surprisingly strong Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Odermatt took first place for the fifth time this winter. “He can only beat himself,” said respectfully Alexander Schmid, who fought his way to a respectable tenth place.
Aicher convinced, Shiffrin frustrated
Parallel world champion Schmid improved from 17th place in the final with the fifth-best running time; 0.51 seconds separated him from the podium, which was completed by Filip Zubcic from Croatia (+1.77 seconds). “The visibility,” the Allgäu native admitted after the first run, was “a challenge” for him, “I had to look a little bit every now and then.” He got along better in the final, but emphasized that he still had a chance in these conditions “Self-understanding is missing.”
Schmid has only been back in the World Cup since December after tearing his cruciate ligament, so despite his problems his result is just as respectable as that of Emma Aicher in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The 20-year-old all-rounder fought her way into the final with the high number 53 and improved from 24th to 15th place with the fourth-best running time: her best result to date in the German problem discipline.
Valerie Grenier surprisingly took victory in Kranjska Gora. The 27-year-old Canadian repeated her only victory in the World Cup from last year. In persistent rain and very difficult slope conditions, Grenier improved from fourth place with a best time in the final and won ahead of the Swiss Super-G Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami and combined world champion Federica Brignone from Italy.
Mikaela Shiffrin couldn't cope with the conditions at all. The World Cup dominator from the USA, who ended the year with two victories in Lienz, Austria, only reached ninth place.
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