Marco Odermatt earns a third straight World Cup overall title with a 10th giant slalom win in a row
OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Marco Odermatt clinched his third consecutive World Cup overall title on Saturday by claiming a 10th giant slalom victory in a row.
The 26-year-old from Switzerland has been so dominant this season that he is assured of taking home the crystal globe for having the most points in the standings even though there are still 10 of 38 races remaining on the schedule.
Odermatt’s win at the Palisades Tahoe resort boosted his total to 1,702 points, a whopping 1,001 ahead of Manuel Feller’s 701. Each victory is worth 100 points, so there is no way Odermatt can be caught.
Under a bright sun and blue sky, with the temperature approaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), Odermatt completed two runs Saturday in a combined time of 2 minutes, 11.69 seconds. That allowed him to finish 0.12 seconds ahead of Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, who earned his first podium placing of the season.
No other ski racer came within a second of Odermatt on Saturday. American River Radamus was 1.37 seconds back in third for the first World Cup podium of his career.
Odermatt’s Swiss teammates Thomas Tumler, Gino Caviezel and Loic Meillard took spots 4-5-6. Feller came in eighth.
Kristoffersen was in second place after the first leg, behind Odermatt, but briefly took over the lead after the second run. Then it was the reigning Olympic gold medalist and world champion’s turn as the last racer down the slope, and while briefly dropping behind Kristoffersen’s pace twice, including by 0.30 seconds midway through, Odermatt made up for it with a sterling finish.
Odermatt has won all seven GS races this season, adding to the three-event streak with which he closed out last season.
How dominant has been across various disciplines? Odermatt not only already is assured of the overall crown but he also leads the standings in the giant slalom, super-G and downhill.
His 11 race wins this season give him at least 10 for each of the last two World Cup seasons.
Radamus, who is from Colorado, was fourth behind Odermatt in the giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. With loud chants of “U-S-A!” supporting him, Radamus was third after the first run Saturday and temporarily moved into first after the second trip down the hill, before Kristoffersen and Odermatt surpassed his time.
Still, this marked a milestone performance.
“It’s been a long time coming,” the 26-year-old Radamus said. “I’ve wanted to feel what this moment feels like for so long.”
There is a men’s slalom at Palisades Tahoe on Sunday.
___
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
