Odermatt snatches win after scintillating Streif Super G

Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) started the iconic Hahnenkamm race weekend in ideal style by grabbing a desperately tight victory in a thrilling Audi FIS World Cup Super G on Friday.

Down the Streif, one of the most famous and demanding tracks on the planet, the world’s best ski racers put on a superb show for the tens of thousands already gathered in Kitzbühel, with just 0.57 seconds separating the top 10.

But the bigger the demands and the harder the competition, the quicker Odermatt flies. The undisputed king of men’s Alpine skiing producing a stunning top and bottom section to finish a narrow three-hundredths of a second ahead of young teammate Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head).

A Swiss one-two – the second of the men’s speed season – was not quite what the Austrian public were after but a second career World Cup podium for Stefan Babinsky (AUT/Head) – achieved on back-to-back weekends – eased the pain. The in-form Austrian finished just ahead of compatriot Raphael Haaser (Atomic), with 2021 hometown winner Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT/Head) rueing a scrappy top section as he ended back in seventh.

The racer just in front of him, Adrian Smiseth Sejersted (NOR/Atomic) produced the most dramatic run of all. The Norwegian somehow recovering from a huge, twisted jump over the Seidlalmsprung, the opening jump, to not only stay upright but somehow fly down to fifth position.

'Victory in Kitzbühel'

Amidst all the drama, and indeed expectation, Odermatt continued to do what he does better than anyone else. Having watched von Allmen respond to a full-gas effort from Babinsky by finding arguably his cleanest run of the Super G season so far, the challenge was on.

Odermatt responded. Flawless up top, the current leader of the Super G, Downhill, Giant Slalom and Overall season standings grabbed the leader’s greenlight at the first opportunity.

After a few small errors in the technically demanding mid-section, Odermatt found an excellent line over the Red Bull Jump, a challenge that derailed many. As a result the 28-year-old was peerless on the technically demanding Traverse, allowing him to notch 142.9kmph – the fastest speed of the day – on the finishing stretch.

All of which added up to his 17^th World Cup Super G victory, enough to push him into equal second on the all-time winners list, alongside Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR).

For Odermatt, it is a seventh victory of the season and back-to-back Kitzbühel Super Gs. Perfect preparation perhaps for the one he really wants, victory in Saturday’s Hahnenkamm Downhill.

“In the end when you are at the start you want to give your best, it does not happen all the time that you have the same power, the same focus maybe," he said. "But it’s a victory in Kitzbühel.”

'Marco was faster'

Compatriot von Allmen cannot yet say that, but after three previous efforts the 24-year-old dopes at least have a podium finish in the Hahnenkamm.

“No it was not the perfect run, Marco was faster, just a couple of hundredths,” said von Allmen who also finished second behind Odermatt in the first Val Gardena Downhill, before reversing the placings a day later.

'Feels great'

For so long the hundredths have fallen the wrong way for Babinsky, but the tide has finally turned for the 29-year-old. Just a week after grabbing the best result of his career down Switzerland’s legendary Lauberhorn, the Austrian matched it on his nation’s most revered slope.

“It feels great. Last week was a very special moment, it was an amazing day, amazing race and I tried to go in to today and concentrate on myself, do my plan,” Babinsky said, before adding, “It was a good run.”

Lightening quick up top, Babinsky was pushed slightly wide on the Red Bull jump and made a tiny error on the closing Zielschuss. Small margins but on a day in which his teammate Marco Schwarz (AUT/Atomic) finished less than a second behind Odermatt but ended 24^th, they were crucial.

He, and the rest of Austria, will hope for even better in Saturday’s classic Downhill, which kicks off at 11:30 CET and will be watched live by more than 50,000 passionate ski fans. Perhaps worryingly for them, the Swiss supremo issued a warning:

“This is awesome, I definitely lost less energy than last year on this day,” said Odermatt, who ended sixth in 2025 after winning the Super G. “So hopefully I am ready tomorrow.”

Check out the full results from the men’s Super G in Kitzbühel here, with the latest season standings in the race for the Super G Crystal Globe here.

Also, do please head to Reuters Connect and Actionpress.de to view and purchase a wide selection of superb photographs like those below from this race and indeed from all FIS events.