Marco Odermatt has taken a significant stride towards defending his World Cup downhill title this season by leading a Swiss podium sweep in the first men’s race post the Milano Cortina Olympic Games. Notably, his closest competitor, teammate, and Olympic gold medalist Franjo van Allmen, did not make it to the podium along with the Swiss trio in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
In a closely contested race, Odermatt narrowly clinched victory by a margin of 0.04 seconds over Alexis Monney, with Stefan Rogentin finishing 0.98 seconds behind in third place. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni shared the fourth spot.
Van Allmen faced challenges midway through his run on the Kandahar course, resulting in a sixth-place finish 1.47 seconds behind the leader. Cam Alexander from North Vancouver, B.C., emerged as the top Canadian finisher, securing the 14th position, 2.02 seconds adrift of Odermatt.
The outcome saw Odermatt extend his lead over von Allmen in the season standings by 175 points with two races left. This victory held special significance for Odermatt, who sought redemption after missing out on an Olympic gold and finishing fourth.
The ongoing rivalry between Odermatt and von Allmen has been a highlight of the downhill season. While Odermatt started strong with consecutive wins, von Allmen responded with victories, including the race at Crans-Montana just before the Olympics. However, in this latest race, von Allmen struggled to match Odermatt’s pace.
Odermatt’s 54th career win has now tied him with Austrian legend Hermann Maier for the third spot on the men’s World Cup winners list. Notably, only Ingemar Stenmark and Marcel Hirscher have more wins than Odermatt in the men’s category. The American standout Mikaela Shiffrin holds the overall record for the most World Cup wins.
Several skiers opted out of the race following crashes during the final training session, with notable injuries reported for France’s Nils Alphand and Finland’s Elian Lehto. The French ski federation confirmed Alphand’s shoulder and rib injuries, while Lehto sustained injuries requiring hospital monitoring.
The upcoming event features a super-G race on the same course scheduled for Sunday.
