Swiss gloom in Sölden Odermatt's unnecessary risk heralds worst giant result in years

The Swiss team in Sölden cannot make up for the absence of Marco Odermatt and Loïc Meillard. The almost two-year Swiss winning streak in the giant slalom comes to an end.

A pat on the back here, a shrug there, then a smile on both sides: When Marco Odermatt meets his coach Helmut Krug in the finish area in Sölden, no words are needed. They both know it was a slip-up. And that this doesn't usually happen twice in a row to an exceptional athlete.

Norwegian triple victory in SöldenSteen Olsen triumphs - Caviezel (9th) best Swiss, Hirscher in 23rd place

But this is exactly what happened at the start of the season on the Rettenbach glacier above Sölden. After Odermatt had missed the perfect season in the giant slalom in the spring with his retirement at the season finale in Saalbach, the 27-year-old from Nidwalden was also eliminated at the season opening in the Ötztal.

Instead of climbing to the top of the podium for the third time in a row after the race at 2670 meters above sea level, last season's dominator lay in the snow after 40 seconds of skiing. "I was a bit too direct, didn't ski cleanly over the small wave, hit a bump and slid off on the inside ski," Odermatt analyzed the scene.

Odermatt's positive feeling

Odermatt did not want to brood. With his usual mischievous smile, he said: "It's a shame, but I'm not sad at all." Rather, the positive feeling he had outweighed the sadness. "It was really cool how I rode at the top. I was almost a little over-motivated and was looking for the most direct line everywhere. Then it was a bit too much. It was unnecessary to risk so much on the first run."

"It was really cool how I skied at the top"That's how far ahead Odermatt was at the time of the mistake

A look at the split times makes this clear: No one was faster than Odermatt. At the second split time after around 27 seconds, he had a margin of four tenths or more over the competition. Winner Alexander Steen Olsen, who had already led after the first run, was already more than seven tenths behind Odermatt.

Odermatt said that he quickly put the retirement behind him, even though he didn't finish for the second time in a row. "I've also had twelve wins in a row, so you can cope with two retirements in a row."

Meillard's back, Caviezel's mistake

One person who could have stepped into the breach for Odermatt would have been Loïc Meillard. However, the Rettenbach Glacier continues to bring the 27-year-old from western Switzerland no luck. After his bindings put a spanner in the works last year, this year it was his back.

The overall World Cup runner-up and second-best giant slalom racer of last season behind Odermatt suffered a knock while skiing in and had to withdraw from the race at short notice. He announced that the pain prevented him from racing. Meillard went to Switzerland for more detailed clarification, where an MRI examination should provide clarity.

Without the two top racers, Thomas Tumler kept Switzerland's chances of a podium place alive after the first run. However, a completely unsuccessful second run saw him drop from 4th place to 14th. Gino Caviezel was the best Swiss skier in 9th place. Due to mistakes in both runs before the flat section, the man from Graubünden missed out on a better result. "I'm not a robot, I'm still Gino. And I still see a lot of potential for improvement." A statement that applies to the entire Swiss team.

However, the worst result in the giant slalom for more than four years was probably just a blip given the breadth of the squad.

Marco Odermatt is anything but depressed on Instagram: "I still love this game. The laughter and speed are back, even if I didn't make it all the way to the bottom." Last season's overall World Cup winner congratulates the Norwegians on their triple victory and offers a challenge: "See you in a month."

SDA