Ten days before the start of the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Courchevel-Méribel (February 6 to 19), the favorites have responded. On the men's side, the Swiss Marco Odermatt got the better of his great rival, the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, on Saturday January 28, in the first of two Super-Gs on the program for the World Cup stage, in Cortina d 'Ampezzo (Italy).
The native of Buochs, who had skipped the two previous events on the circuit due to a left knee alert, signed his seventh victory of the season, the third in this specialty. He is ahead of the Norwegian by 35/100th and the Italian Mattia Casse, who completes the podium, by 49/100th.
"It's a very special victory," reacted Marco Odermatt after the race. “I really felt during the race that I had been out for a long time, it was like I had lost confidence in my body. »
The 2022 winner of the big crystal globe, which rewards the overall winner of the World Cup, consolidates his lead for this 2022-2023 season and can dream of a double. The 25-year-old Swiss now has 1,286 points, 213 more than Aleksander Kilde (2nd, 1,073 points) and 507 better than another Norwegian, Henrik Kristoffersen, specialist in slalom and giant (3rd , 779 points). He also dislodged Aleksander Kilde from first place in the Super-G standings. The latter, however, remains ahead of that of the descent.
For the French team, limited to five podiums this winter, the best result of the day came from Cyprien Sarrazin: starting with bib number 34, the increasingly comfortable giantist in speed events finished in 8th place, 91/100th behind the winner. Alexis Pinturault ranked 12th, 1 s 09/100th behind Marco Odermatt.
The Cortina stage was not on the program of the Men's World Cup: it replaces that of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, canceled due to lack of snow. It ends on Sunday with a second Super-G.
Mikaela Shiffrin vers le record d'Ingemar Stenmark
Among women, it is now a habit: Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn (Czech Republic) on Saturday, signing the 85th success of her career in the World Cup and her 11th victory of the season. Twelve races from the end, she now has a 671 point lead in the general classification over her first pursuer, the Slovak Petra Vhlova, and is heading for a fifth big crystal globe.
This Saturday, the American crossed the line with a 60/100th lead in the two rounds over the German Lena Dürr. While the Swiss Wendy Holdener, third, finished 1 s 31 behind the skier from Vail (Colorado). Frenchwoman Nastasia Noens, 27th after the first round and qualified for the second, took 26th place of the day (3s45).
Spindleruv Mlyn hosts a second slalom this weekend. If successful, Mikaela Shiffrin would equal Swedish alpine skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark and her 86 World Cup successes in the 1970s and 1980s. Just 20 days after joining compatriot Lindsey Vonn in history of his sport. In a nod to history, it was on the Czech track that she made her first World Cup start on March 11, 2011.
