This weekend, the ski cracks start the new World Cup season in Sölden. For Marco Odermatt, it's not just about getting off to a good start in his mission to defend his overall World Cup title.
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- With 23 giant slalom victories, Marco Odermatt is already in 4th place in the all-time best list in this discipline.
- With a triumph in Sölden on Sunday, the Swiss would catch up with Ted Ligety in third place. The record is held by Ingemar Stenmark with an incredible 46 victories in the giant slalom.
- However, Odermatt does not see his big goal for the season in his showpiece discipline, but in the downhill - he wants to win in Kitzbühel.
Marco Odermatt won nine giant slalom races in a row last season. Only in the last race did he have to admit defeat and did not make it to the finish line. This means that the 27-year-old now has 23 victories in his favorite discipline and is already on a par with Michael von Grünigen.
Ingemar Stenmark's record is still a long way off. The Swedish skiing legend has triumphed 46 times in the giant slalom - twice as often as Odermatt currently has. However, the Swiss could already catch up with the second and third-placed skiers in the giant slalom leaderboard this season. Marcel Hirscher has 31 victories, Ted Ligety 24.
This means that with a victory in Sölden on Sunday at the start of the season, Odermatt could already draw level with Ligety.
Kitzbühel as the big goal for the season
However, the Nidwalden native's focus this season is not necessarily on his main discipline. Several weeks before the start of the season, Odermatt has already made it clear what he absolutely wants to achieve this year: "I have one big goal, and that is the downhill in Kitzbühel."
Of course, Odermatt would also love to triumph again in the overall World Cup - for the fourth time in a row. He sees another Swiss racer as his biggest rival. "Loïc Meillard is currently technically one of the best, if not the best skier. He can also win in three disciplines," said Odermatt recently.
It was also Meillard who won the giant slalom at the season finale in Saalbach in March. The 27-year-old is therefore one of the favorites going into the first race of the season in Sölden. In addition to Odermatt and Meillard, six other Swiss will be at the start. Thomas Tumler, Gino Caviezel, Justin Murisier, Fadri Janutin, Livio Simonet and Sandro Zurbrügg are also in the Swiss-Ski line-up.
