Big trouble for the Norwegians "Bullshit" - Kristoffersen and McGrath rage after Odermatt victory
Marco Odermatt returns to victory in his showpiece discipline in the crazy giant slalom in Val d'Isère. The Norwegians come away empty-handed - and are furious about the weather conditions.
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- After three giant slalom failures in a row recently, Marco Odermatt is back to winning in his showpiece discipline.
- None of the Norwegians, who celebrated a triple victory in the giant slalom at the start of the season in Sölden, made it onto the podium in Val d'Isère.
- Henrik Kristoffersen and Atle Lie McGrath are struggling with the difficult weather conditions. "It's absolutely ridiculous," says McGrath.
When one skier finishes 30th in the first run in fourth place and another skier finishes 24th in the first run in second place, it usually has to do with special weather conditions. This was also the case in the giant slalom on Saturday in Val d'Isère.
When Luca Aerni opens the second run, visibility is still clear. Half an hour later, it is snowing heavily and the racers can hardly see anything. Aerni makes up place after place and even sniffs the podium at the end.
Patrick Feurstein is doing even better. The Austrian, 24th after the first run, is still in the lead when only Marco Odermatt is still at the top. As the leader of the first run, he takes a 2.49 second lead with him. In the end, Odermatt's lead of 8 hundredths of a second is just enough for victory.
The Nidwalden native is hugely relieved after three consecutive failures in his showpiece discipline. Meanwhile, other top skiers are furious. Henrik Kristoffersen, for example, who was still able to keep up with Odermatt in the first run and only lost 15 hundredths, had great difficulty with the weather conditions and missed out on the podium (5th). As he crosses the finish line, he shouts "Bullshit!" into the camera.
McGrath: "Absolutely ridiculous"
Kristoffersen is not the only Norwegian to vent his frustration. "Ridiculous," says Atle Lie McGrath after he crosses the finish line. "It's absolutely ridiculous. I'm sitting at the bottom of the hill in glorious sunshine, and then I go up to the start and suddenly I can't see a meter in front of me," McGrath explains afterwards on the streaming service "Viaplay".
He continued: "It was so dark that I could barely see my skis. It's an outdoor sport and I don't want to moan, but I'm just incredibly frustrated. It was a lousy day at work."
In the Sölden giant slalom, the Norwegians were able to celebrate a triple victory, but now, as in Beaver Creek, they missed out on the podium. Former top skier Kjetil André Aamodt can understand the frustration of his compatriots, but says on "Viaplay": "Even if some people are critical, we can see who is at the top - Marco Odermatt. It was possible for everyone to win today, even if the conditions were difficult."
