(Beaver Creek) The bird of prey in Beaver Creek is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde: the Norwegian won, like last year, the super-G in Colorado where the World Cup was staged on Sunday, offering himself a double after his victory in the descent, still ahead of Marco Odermatt.
Under a bright sun, a resplendent ski. That of the holder of the small crystal globe in the specialty who beat the reigning Olympic giant slalom champion by 20 hundredths.
The Swiss, who had started just before, did not have time to savor the gain of first place, having dislodged the Frenchman Alexis Pinturault who completed the podium by 30 hundredths.
Smiling as if facing stronger, he even applauded his Norwegian rival, decidedly the fastest this weekend.
Aged 30, Kilde, winner of his 16e race in the World Cup, took his revenge on the Swiss who had blown him the victory in the first super-G of the season, last week in Lake Louise (Canada).
He took the opportunity to take the psychological advantage in their duel at full speed, this winter, even if it is not yet visible in the general classification.
After five events, Kilde now has three victories against two in Odermatt, which must remain in the lead of the World Cup, with 40 points ahead (420 against 380), in its third place in the descent won by the Norwegian the week spent in Alberta.
An additional presence on a podium this season, compared to Kilde who had not taken part in the giant of Sölden (Austria) in October, precisely won by the Swiss.
Behind this inevitable duo, which definitely offers an exciting mano a mano, Pinturault took third place.
A very encouraging result for the Frenchman, winner of the big crystal globe in the spring of 2021, who is trying to reconnect with his best skiing after a season without victories, which had not happened to him for ten years. Aged 31, the Savoyard has 34 World Cup victories.