Masterclass from Odermatt leads Swiss sweep in Garmisch

Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) took a huge step towards securing his third successive Audi FIS World Cup Downhill Crystal Globe with a near flawless performance in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday.

With the pressure on after a gold-free Olympic campaign, Odermatt was back to his very best, finding a touch down the demanding Kandahar course that no one could match. The roar in the finish area with arms outstretched showed just what a fourth Downhill win of the season, alongside the accompanying 100 points, meant.

Last season Alexis Monney (SUI/Stöckli) was one of those who pushed Odermatt all the way in the Downhill Globe race, but having struggled to find his best this time around, the 26-year-old’s efforts on Saturday signalled a welcome return to form. Matching Odermatt through the steep top section, the margins were tight with only a slight error on the lower flats dropping Monney back into second, 0.04 seconds behind his teammate.

A third red-suited skier on the podium was perhaps no surprise for a nation that has dominated the speed events of late, but the identity was.

In his previous five World Cup Downhills, Stefan Rogentin (SUI/Fischer) had finished outside the top-24 four times, with 14^th in Wengen his best result. But out the gate third, the 31-year-old powered back to his best to claim a third Downhill podium of his career.

All eyes were on Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head) when the recently crowned three-time Olympic champion pushed out from the gate as the last of the top seeds. But a wild ride, after which the 24-year-old complained he was “too direct”, left von Allmen down in sixth and barely holding on to his dream of a first ever Crystal Globe.

Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT/Head) and Giovanni Franzoni (ITA/Rossignol) tied for fourth but at 1.20 seconds back, neither ever truly threatened the Swiss sweep.  

Odi delighted to win another Classic

The win, Odermatt’s 54^th of his startling career, sees the 28-year-old join Austrian legend Hermann Maier in third on the men’s all-time World Cup winners list. It also puts Odermatt 175 points clear of von Allmen in the battle for the Downhill Crystal Globe, with just two races left – and 200 points up for grabs.

Add on the fact the win stretches his Overall Crystal Globe lead to 687 points, over two-discipline skier Lucas Pineheiro Braathen (BRA/Atomic) and it is easy to see why the Swiss man was smiling.  

After a break of four years, the world’s best was loving being back racing one of the iconic Downhills.

“Two years we just skied the Super G from the lower start and it was very soft, the conditions but today was totally different, we could race the original Downhill track which is one of the coolest tracks in the World Cup,” Odermatt said.  

“Very steep, very technical, very difficult and also the snow, for sure it was warm, it was a little bit slippery but the base of the snow was very good.

“If you want to win you have to have all parts skiing very well but I think I made the difference in the last 20, 30 seconds. I could take a lot of speed to the finish line.”

‘That’s life’ says Monney

For Monney a second place in the Livigno Super G in December had been a lone highlight, but back on a demanding course the Stöckli man found the kind of pace that delivered a win and five additional podium finishes in speed races last season.

“I was not really happy about the Olympic Downhill race, I wanted a bit more, I was disappointed and at the end a bit sad,” said Monney, who ended fifth in Bormio.

“But I managed to put this bad energy into good energy and this slope I like it because it’s really technical.”

He and Odermatt were in a class apart, no other skier getting within almost a second of the pair. But as for the four-hundredths that separated him and the maestro, Monney was left shaking his head.  

“I don’t really know,” Monney said laughing. “But I think on the bottom he was so fast here but that’s life.”

Rogentin defies ‘bad feeling’

Rogentin is another Swiss speed skier who has found life tricky this season, a particular challenge given the success of many of his teammates. But a first podium of the season changes everything, even if the 31-year-old is not quite sure where it came from.

“The feeling wasn’t that good. I had a bad feeling, especially on the first part. The feeling was I didn’t have enough grip, I was always a little bit straight, too direct in my opinion,” a bemused Rogentin said. “But I was pretty fast in the upper part and the rest was pretty solid.

“Garmisch is a pretty hard Downhill, one of the hardest during the season and you know when you come over here you need tension in your body and you have to be fully focused.”

With Rogentin’s best discipline, the Super G, taking place on Sunday at 11:15 CET the signs are good for yet more Swiss success, with Odermatt looking to once again turn a commanding lead in the standings into yet another Globe.

Check out the full results from the men’s Downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen here, with the latest season standings in the race for the Downhill Crystal Globe here.

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