Marco Odermatt Back on Track as Franjo von Allmen Sets the Pace in Chile

von Allmen, Odermatt / GEPA pictures

Marco Odermatt’s preparation for the 2026-27 World Cup season did not go exactly as planned.

The five-time defending overall World Cup champion returned from Switzerland’s September training camp in Chile encouraged after a minor muscle injury delayed his trip by approximately one week.

Odermatt completed nine on-snow sessions in Valle Nevado across giant slalom, downhill and super-G, according to Swiss newspaper Blick. He also trained alongside a Swiss speed group operating at a high level.

Three-time Olympic champion Franjo von Allmen repeatedly produced the fastest training times while showing improved consistency that impressed Swiss coaches.

For Odermatt, who enters the season as the reigning overall, downhill and super-G World Cup champion, that provided a meaningful benchmark as the Oct. 25 giant slalom opener in Sölden approaches.

Odermatt’s Chile trip begins one week late

Odermatt originally planned to travel to Chile with Switzerland’s giant slalom group at the beginning of September.

According to Blick, he first experienced discomfort near his hip during glacier training in Zermatt. The problem worsened during strength training in Stans, Switzerland, and medical examinations revealed a small muscle injury.

Swiss-Ski announced that Odermatt would miss the planned Sept. 1 departure and focus on treatment and rehabilitation.

His recovery progressed quickly.

After working with physiotherapist Patrick Amrhein in Engelberg, Odermatt received clearance to travel and departed for Chile on Sept. 7 with Switzerland’s speed group.

Before leaving, Odermatt told Blick that he planned to approach his first days back on snow cautiously rather than immediately return to full intensity.

By the end of the camp, he had completed nine training sessions across his three World Cup disciplines.

“I had some really good training days here,” Odermatt told Blick before returning home.

Nine sessions rebuild the foundation

Swiss men’s head coach Tom Stauffer viewed the shortened camp positively.

Stauffer told Blick that Switzerland was able to establish a useful foundation with Odermatt in giant slalom, downhill and super-G despite the delayed arrival.

The lost week did have consequences.

Stauffer said the staff did not have enough sessions to move as deeply into discipline-specific work as it normally would.

That matters with Sölden approaching, but the immediate goal in Chile was broader: get Odermatt healthy, restore volume and rebuild across all three disciplines.

The results suggest the setback did not significantly derail that process.

Von Allmen sets the pace

Odermatt’s return becomes more interesting when measured against his Swiss teammates.

Von Allmen emerged as one of the standout performers during the speed camp.

Swiss speed coach Reto Nydegger told Blick that von Allmen repeatedly produced the fastest training times. Ski-Nordique/Sports Infos highlighted those performances in a Sept. 26 report based on the Blick interview.

Nydegger said the most important development was not simply von Allmen’s speed.

It was his consistency.

“Franjo has improved enormously,” Nydegger told Blick, as reported by Ski-Nordique/Sports Infos.

According to Nydegger, von Allmen had previously struggled to reproduce his best skiing as reliably from run to run. During the Chile camp, he skied out only once or twice over several weeks of training.

For an athlete whose highest level already produces Olympic and World Cup victories, improved consistency could be significant.

Odermatt stays within range

Nydegger also told Blick that the rest of Switzerland’s speed group, including Odermatt, remained relatively close to von Allmen’s training times.

That comparison requires context.

Von Allmen completed a fuller training block, while Odermatt arrived approximately one week late and initially managed his return from injury.

Still, staying within range of von Allmen gave the Swiss staff a useful indication of Odermatt’s progress.

The benchmark was substantial.

In his first Olympic Games, von Allmen won gold in downhill, super-G and team combined at Milano Cortina, becoming only the third man to win three alpine gold medals at a single Winter Olympics.

He also finished the 2025-26 World Cup season with seven speed podiums, including downhill victories in Val Gardena and Crans-Montana.

Odermatt, meanwhile, secured his fifth consecutive overall title, third consecutive downhill globe and fourth consecutive super-G globe.

Training results do not predict World Cup finishes. But within the Swiss camp, Odermatt was measuring himself against one of the fastest speed racers in the sport.

Swiss miss an international comparison

Switzerland hoped to gain an additional reference during the final days of the camp.

According to Nydegger, the Swiss planned to train alongside Italian downhill veteran Dominik Paris.

Rising temperatures prevented those sessions from taking place.

That left Switzerland without the international comparison coaches had hoped to gain.

The internal standard remained demanding. Along with Odermatt and von Allmen, Switzerland continues to field considerable men’s speed depth, including Alexis Monney and Stefan Rogentin.

Changing snow tests the Swiss

Conditions in Chile also varied more than they had during Switzerland’s 2025 training block.

Nydegger told Blick that the snow was initially softer than the coaches wanted. Conditions improved enough to provide several strong training days before warmer temperatures created problems late in the camp.

The changing surface still provided useful preparation.

World Cup athletes must regularly adjust their timing, balance and tactics to different snow conditions. Valle Nevado gave the Swiss opportunities to make those adjustments before racing begins.

Switzerland leaves Chile with encouraging signs

The most important development for Odermatt may be straightforward.

He is back on snow.

A late-August injury cost him approximately one week of his Chile camp, but he still completed nine sessions across giant slalom, downhill and super-G.

At the same time, von Allmen appears to have added greater consistency to the speed that produced three Olympic gold medals last winter.

That combination leaves Switzerland with two very different reasons for optimism.

Odermatt recovered enough to rebuild a meaningful training base. Von Allmen may have taken another step forward.

The real comparison begins when the World Cup season opens.

This article is based in part on original reporting by Marcel W. Perren of Swiss newspaper Blick, including interviews with Marco Odermatt, Tom Stauffer and Reto Nydegger. Additional information on von Allmen’s Chile training was reported by Mirko Hominal of Ski-Nordique/Sports Infos, citing Blick’s reporting. Ski Racing Media independently verified World Cup and Olympic results through the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).