Featured Image: Alta Badia podium. Credit: GEPA
The day finished with the Swiss superstar, Marco Odermatt, breaking the record of achieving 25 giant slalom World Cup wins, surpassing Ted Ligety’s impressive 24. This marks his 41st World Cup victory and 5th win on the challenging Alta Badia track.
He stated, “I think every run is different. Today, In the morning it was very difficult with the changing conditions and in the second run, I felt better after inspection knowing that the underground was better, so I knew I could ski my plan, I could attack and it was less dangerous.”
Both runs on the Alta Badia track were dynamically challenging courses. The men had to work hard, while going full-throttle to achieve a leaderboard finish.
Even though the course crew put in a lot of effort to prepare the track for the World Cup, the later competitors faced some choppy, icy conditions that made things tricky for the athletes. On the second run the men would have to give it there all to achieve victory and Marco Odermatt did that in superb fashion.
Filip Zubcic of Croatia was winning after the first run, but lost some time in critical parts of the second run course. He finished the day in 4th-place position.
The Podium
French athlete Leo Anguenot had a brilliant second run that moved him up seven places from the first run onto the podium. The 26-year-old finished in 2nd place, +0.85 behind Odermatt, marking his first podium finish of his World Cup career.
Before today, Anguenot’s best result was 13th place in giant slalom, so this was a huge success for the young athlete.
Norweigian Alexander Steen Olsen rounded out the podium +0.88 behind the lead. This secures Steen Olsen’s fourth podium finish of his World Cup career and third in giant slalom.
He started the season with his second victory, which boosted the 23-year-old’s confidence. He will continue to push for top results this season in hopes of achieving his first giant slalom globe.
North Americans
Erik Read skiing for the World Racing Academy and Stifel US Ski Team racer River Radamus were the two North Americans to qualify for the second run.
Erik Read was the first North American to push out of the start gate on the second run. This is the athlete’s first qualification into the second run this season.
After Sölden he stated on social media , “It’s a fight from higher bibs, and it’s time to get back to work for a little extra.”
On the first run he went all out, but remained tactically smart. This skillful skiing was key in the choppy conditions that built up on the course. On the second run he took advantage of the clear track, finishing in 20th place.
River Radamus was sitting in 11th place after the first run, trailing the lead by +1.13, but barely out of the top 10.
He started the second run, establishing a lead through the upper turns. Through the middle he lost a little speed, but continued to pinch the line. He finished the day in 15th place.
Other Highlights
Alex Vinatzer, an Italian hometown favorite, started the day wearing bib 18. After achieving one of his top results at the beginning of this season, a solid 5th place in Sölden, he felt let down by his first run today. Thus, he gave it his all on the second run, pushing the line and finishing the day in 8th place.
Matthias Roenngren from Sweden came back from injury this season. The 31-year-old did not qualify for the second run in Sölden or Val D’Isère. Thereby, he was pushing to gain his first points of the season. He finished the day in 29th place.
Andreas Zampa was the highest bib number to qualify for the second run. Wearing bib-61, the Slovakian moved up to 25th position. This was the first time he qualified for a second run this season, concluding the day in 18th place.
Marco Schwarz of Austria has been battling through injury challenges that ended his season early last year. Nonetheless, he was attacking the course with grit and determination. Unfortunately, he made a mistake in the middle of the course, which cost him time. He concluded the day in 26th place, but it was a step forward to finish the run and gain valuable World Cup points.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen
Coming back to the World Cup stage after a year off from the sport, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wowed everyone with an impressive 4th and 2nd place in giant slalom. Unfortunately, he did not finish in the Val Di’Isère giant slalom.
Today, the Brazilian struggled to move up on the leaderboard. The first run he fought through the choppy terrain but had a few mistakes that cost him time. He finished the run behind the mark by +1.69, and in the second run he fell further behind. He finished the day in 22nd place.
He still remains in a great place on the standings and will continue to push with a lot of racing left in the season.
Top 30 Race Results
Top Three Analysis
North American Analysis
Read more from the day: First Run in Alta Badia
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
