Supreme Odermatt breaks Austrian hearts with third Sölden triumph

Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli) defied everything Austria could throw at him to begin the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season in typical style with victory in a snowy Sölden on Sunday.

The home nation did their utmost to stop the undisputed world No.1, but in the end the rejuvenated Marco Schwarz (AUT/Atomic) had to settle for second, 0.24 seconds behind, with countryman Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT/Fischer) pushed into fourth, after a surging second run from Atle Lie McGrath (Head) secured the Norwegian his second successive third-place finish in the season-starter (+0.27 seconds).

Falling snow and fog made racing particularly tough on the Rettenbach Glacier, with the second run pushed back an hour and the start of both runs lowered.

But the world's best were not to be denied, as shown by a leaderboard littered with strong performances. Frenchman Thibaut Favrot's (Dynastar) fourth place represents his best World Cup GS finish for almost four years. While Raphael Haaser (AUT/Atomic) added to the Austrian smiles by grabbing sixth, his best result in the discipline to date.

Naturally, not everyone was happy.

Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR/Van Deer) was left rueing his "luck" and the fact "you can't change the weather". Tough visibility in both runs left the Norwegian back in seventh. Fellow pre-race favourite Loic Meillard's (SUI/Rossignol) Sölden woes continued. The man who finished last season with two successive World Cup GS triumphs ended down in 14th.

Meanwhile, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA/Atomic) was unable to deliver for his legions of fans. The Brazilian was out the gate straight after Odermatt, but while the Swiss supremo managed to limit his first-run mistakes, Pinheiro Braathen got late in the turn midway through the famed pitch and after almost hitting the snow, he was unable to recover. The wait for a first World Cup win in Brazilian colours continues.

'Winning is never normal'

The great Odermatt might have started his assault on a fifth successive Big Globe - and a fifth GS Globe - in a style his fans have become accustomed to, with a 27th World Cup GS win. But the Swiss supremo insisted he never tires of victory.

Ahead of Schwarz by one-hundredth of a second at the halfway point, the 28-year-old was under real pressure to deliver. Which is just how he likes it.

"Definitely difficult ones, with the conditions, with the visibility, the snowfall, it was a tough race, but I usually like those tough races," he said after finishing in a combined time of one minute 56.03 seconds.

Three wins and a World Cup Globe last season would represent a fantastic haul for most people, but Odermatt is not most people.

"It was not the easiest, or not my very best GS season in the end last season," said the man whose previous GS victory came in January in Adelboden. "So yeah, after not winning for a couple of months, it's very nice to be back on the podium on top."

A third Sölden triumph pulls Odermatt level with the iconic Austrian Herman Maier. Ted Ligety (USA) with four resort wins is firmly in his sight, as are a whole host of records.

Schwarz: 'I got the joy back'

The 15,300 fans packed in to the Sölden arena - not to mention the millions watching on TV - may not have quite got a second home win in two days, but the sight of Schwarz back at the top of the leaderboard was certainly something to cheer.

The Austrian's last podium came in December 2023, the end of a period in which he was challenging across the disciplines. But injury struck and Schwarz has had to claw his way back to his best.

"It was a long journey to come back on the podium," Schwarz said. "Last year was really tough for me. I had lots of pain. I struggled a lot with that. I put lots of pressure on myself last year. But this year middle of summer, I was nearly out of pain and I got the joy back in training. That was the key."

Two superb runs confirmed the multi-talented Austrian is back.

Success in Sölden after a previous best result of 13th in his four attempts was the icing on a very cold cake.

"For sure it's one of the best things to be on the podium and to be on the podium in Austria, for me means a lot," he added. "My family has been here and it's really nice."

'Viking weather'

While plenty were wishing for a bit of sun in Sölden, Norway's McGrath was quite happy with the swirling snow and limited vision.

"Actually the fact that it was that tough - you know we kind of call it Viking weather - was actually really nice because then you didn't have a choice. You just had to go," McGrath said. "You couldn't rely on the weather helping you, you just had to try it."

After a "passive" first run, not helped by excessive nerves that gave him a "kind of out of body experience" that was exactly what McGrath did second time around.

"I was really happy with how I executed and just how I skied," he said, having jumped up from seventh at the halfway spot. "It's really fun to be back on the podium."

Last season McGrath was also on the Sölden podium, alongside compatriot Alexander Steen Olsen (Rossignol) and Kristoffersen, and the 25-year-old admitted he was missing his mates. But more importantly, he is determined not to repeat the mistakes he made 12 months ago.

"To start off well and then finish so poorly, was very frustrating, and I took a lot of learning from it," said the skier who failed to claim another GS podium last season and had just one other top-five finish.

"I'll keep on pushing, keep on training. I've learned now that one podium doesn't mean you're on top of the world. It pretty much means you just need to work even harder so but, yeah, it's awesome starting season like this."

With that McGrath and the rest of the Slalom skiers are off to Levi, Finland for the next World Cup stop, 15-16 November. While the GS and speed specialists will head across the Atlantic for an American swing. Join us then.