Almost apologetic: Winner Marco Odermatt (front) accepts the congratulations from Loïc Meillard
Image: Keystone
The man from Nidwalden triumphs on the Chuenisbärgli for the fourth time in a row
Image: Keystone
Meillard climbs onto the Adelboden podium for the third time
Image: Keystone
But in the end, starting number 1 is once again only second best
Image: Keystone
Almost apologetic: Winner Marco Odermatt (front) accepts the congratulations from Loïc Meillard
Image: Keystone
The man from Nidwalden triumphs on the Chuenisbärgli for the fourth time in a row
Image: Keystone
Meillard climbs onto the Adelboden podium for the third time
Image: Keystone
But in the end, starting number 1 is once again only second best
Image: Keystone
Marco Odermatt wins the giant slalom in Adelboden for the fourth time in a row. The joy is relatively muted. Because once again Loïc Meillard is the one to suffer.
12.01.2025, 17:25
12.01.2025, 17:48
SDA
Marco Odermatt accepts Luca de Aliprandini's congratulations almost apologetically. Loïc Meillard, the leader after the first run, has just crossed the finish line. The 0.20 seconds are highlighted in red and marked with a plus on the scoreboard. While the fans are celebrating a Swiss double victory, the runner-up can't help but let out a cry of frustration.
Odermatt is on the top step of the podium in the giant slalom classic in the Bernese Oberland for the fourth time in a row. Only Marcel Hirscher and Ingemar Stenmark have managed this before him, with the Swede having one more victory to his name.
The finish slope decides the race
Odermatt once again withstood the enormous pressure in front of his home crowd. After a slow start in the first run, he limited the gap to his team-mate with a strong run on the finishing slope. In the second run, the man from Nidwalden once again brought about the decision in the final section, although he experienced a moment of shock at the entrance. "I was unlucky," Odermatt describes the scene. "I lost my skis and was only able to save myself with a lot of luck."
No time was lost compared to Meillard. On the contrary: Odermatt completed the last part of the course 53 hundredths faster than his team-mate, who made no obvious mistakes but was probably too well-behaved compared to "race dog" Odermatt.
Meillard made it onto the podium for the third time in Adelboden. Not a bad result, but also no comparison to Odermatt's haul. It was supposed to be a reconciliation with the Chuenisbärgli, an absolute triumph. Second place should therefore once again feel like a defeat. "It does upset me," says Meillard. To immediately put things into perspective: "But when you see where I've come from this winter in the giant slalom, I can be satisfied." Especially as he had faltered in the slalom the day before and was eliminated for the first time this season.
In the shadow of the dominator
It's been four years since Meillard has finished higher than Odermatt in a giant slalom - when both have finished. It was on the Chuenisbärgli of all places that the Frenchman left the Nidwalden native behind for the last time. The difference was two hundredths. If the 2 was on his side back then, it was on Meillard's back several times afterwards.
The high-class technician has climbed onto the giant slalom podium seven times since that day in 2021. He has finished third twice and second three times. Odermatt has always won. In Meillard's two victories, the dominator took himself out of the decision. Odermatt skipped the 2023 night race in Schladming after his near-crash in Kitzbühel. At the season finale in Saalbach last winter, Odermatt retired as the leader in the second run.
Odermatt also came close to retiring on Sunday. But instead of finishing without points for the third time in the fifth giant slalom of the season, he took his third victory. "It's not the same emotions," says Odermatt with a little distance. "But it doesn't feel any less nice."
