Swiss skier Marco Odermatt overcame a tricky course to win a men’s World Cup super-G on Sunday.
He thus deserved his second victory in two days, just over a week before the start of the world championships.
Odermatt extended his lead in the overall standings and the super-G standings.
His closest rival, Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, was among the 10 top-30 riders who failed to finish.
“It was a difficult super-G, I had problems. It was very tight at two gates,” Odermatt said.
His win came a day after a triumphant comeback after he retired from two races last week to give a sore left knee a break.
“Two very important races for me. It gives me a great springboard for the world championships,” said Odermatt, the overall title holder.
On the difficult course of Olympia delle Tofane, Odermatt overcame a difficult section with difficulty, 30 seconds after the start of the race. Skiers were coming from an elevation and approaching a double left turn, where many went too fast to get through the next gate.
“It was borderline. It was a very difficult turn to find the right one timing. When inspecting the course, everyone saw it a little differently,” Odermatt said.
Home favorite Dominik Paris finished 0.76 seconds behind for his first podium of the season. Austrian skier Daniel Hemetsberger was 1.03 seconds behind in third place.
The course of the Italian Dolomites, with its famous Tofane Schuss, is a usual stage of the women’s circuit. It was hosting men’s World Cup races this weekend for the first time in more than three decades.
A slalom in Chamonix, France, next Saturday is the last men’s World Cup race before the February 6-19 world championships in Courchevel and Méribel.
Brodie Seger was the top Canadian, finishing 16th.
Among other Canadians, Cameron Alexander finished 20th, Jeffrey Read 23rd, Riley Seger 25th and Broderick Thompson 27th.