Photo: Odermatt. GEPA pictures.

If you win Val d’lsere, you know you have skied at a truly elite level. Last year’s winner is victorious again. Marco Odermatt is dominating men’s GS. The rest of the field has much to accomplish if they hope to challenge him in Alta Badia.

Olympic champion Marco Odermatt dominated on Saturday to win a World Cup giant slalom and consolidate his lead in the overall standings.

“It was a big fight again, I gave it everything,” Odermatt said. “It’s probably one of my best races ever, so it’s a great victory here.”

“I took the risk again (in the second run). The snow was so much better than in the first run. It allowed me to keep pushing.”

The Swiss skier posted the fastest times in both runs on the Face de Bellevarde course in Val d’Isère to finish 1.40 seconds ahead of Austria’s Manuel Feller. He had been 0.45 ahead of Feller after the opening run.

“He is just in a different league,” Feller said. “He’s so awesome; it’s so easy for him. He is just getting better and better.

“I’m not 100 percent happy because 1.4 is just a big difference to first, but the result is awesome.”

Second, after the first run, Feller skied without caution on the final run. The Austrian took all the risks needed to cross in the lead but was not fast enough to challenge the Swiss star. Second place Feller finished 1.40 seconds behind Odermatt. 

An impressive second run saw Olympic silver medallist Žan Kranjec of Slovenia move up from eighth to third, 2.05 slower than Odermatt. Kranjec finished 11th on the first run, but the powerful skier skied the second run with the determination he is well known for. 

US’s River Radamus experienced challenges on his first run and found himself well back from the leader. However, anyone who qualifies for the second run has done well. Radamus, running seventh on the second run, took advantage of his early start number and moved up the leaderboard eight spots, finishing as the top US athlete in 16th. 

“Overall to ski bad and come out with a 16th result…I’m okay with it, though I know I can do more,” said Radamus regarding his performance.

University of Denver graduate, Canadian Erik Read, is the best North American today. Read moved up seven positions on the second run to finish in 15th.

One of the exciting stories of the day is Italian Fillipo Della Vitte. The 21-year-old, the youngest in the second run, started with bib 49 and finished the day 12th. He was also the highest bib number to qualify for the second run. 

The other US athlete who qualified is Brian McLaughlin. He skied more conservatively on the second run but finished in the points. McLaughlin will return to the top 60 on the GS World Cup Start List and create another start quota for the US when the next list becomes valid. McLaughlin finished in 19th, representing his career’s second-best World Cup result. 

“I’m feeling really good about the result today. It was a tough day; it’s always a tough day in Val d’Isere,” said McLaughlin.

The other North American to score today is Canada’s Trevor Phlip. While Philp is capable of more, he finished the day 26th. 

Analysis of top three and qualified North Americans and final results

Results of December 10th Val d’lsere men’s GS

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.