(Kranjska Gora) Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt won the World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora on Saturday to secure the top spot in the overall standings.
Odermatt, the reigning Olympic champion, built on his lead in the first run and edged Frenchman Alexis Pinturault by 23 hundredths of a second. Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen took third place.
Odermatt, who is also the defending overall champion, secured the title by building a 486-point lead over Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Kilde does not participate in the weekend races and the Norwegian can only mathematically obtain a maximum of 400 points during the World Cup Finals in Andorra.
“It’s another perfect day for me. It was very, very hot conditions and it was not easy to stay focused on the start line, said Odermatt. It was not easy to ski, but I am very happy to have won this race. »
Odermatt became the first skier to win the sport’s most prestigious title in two consecutive seasons since Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, who achieved the feat seven times in a row from 2012 to 2019.
Odermatt can also clinch the giant slalom title this weekend. He currently leads Kristoffersen by 140 points. A second race is scheduled for Sunday, followed by the season-ending race next Saturday.
“It’s only done when it’s done. Henrik will definitely try to beat me tomorrow,” Odermatt pointed out.
Odermatt has triumphed in four of the seven World Cup giant slaloms this season and won gold in the discipline at the World Championships last month.
The Swiss skier has already won the super-G title.