After second place the day before in the Super-G behind Cyprien Sarazzin, the Swiss turned the tables and distanced the Frenchman by 0.59 seconds. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde fell on Saturday and is believed to have been seriously injured. The best of only four Austrians was Vincent Kriechmayr in fifth place (+2.49).
After 40 starts, Otmar Striedinger was in 12th position (+3.09), Daniel Danklmaier (+4.12) in the top 20. Stefan Babinsky crashed on the approach to the Brüggli-S. The ÖSV team is still waiting for its first podium finish this World Cup winter. There are two runs on the program in Kitzbühel next week.
Odermatt had a phenomenal ride in the snow with start number 8. Immediately after him, Sarrazin was even faster in the upper section up to Canadian Corner and Brüggli-S, but from the middle section onwards the Swiss drove as if he had been liberated from all earthly standards. Sarrazin, on the other hand, lost his strength. The third-placed South Tyrolean Dominik Paris was already 1.92 seconds behind. “It was perfect. I think I was at my limit again everywhere,” said Odermatt on ORF television. “I knew very quickly that this would be difficult to beat.”
Image: GEPA pictures/ Mathias Mandl (GEPA pictures)
Odermatt celebrated his first downhill victory in the World Cup two days ago in Wengen. However, since this was the replacement for the canceled race at Beaver Creek, it did not count as a Lauberhorn victory. The Super-G, which Odermatt won two years ago, was also a replacement race. Now the 26-year-old is finally immortalized on the plaque of the winner’s stone, which is located in the village center of Wengen.
It was Kilde’s turn, who was somewhat ailing, with start number 11. The Norwegian lost control at the end of the longest route in the Ski World Cup and crashed into the safety net in the finish curve. The race was then interrupted for almost half an hour. Kilde was conscious, but like Alexis Pinturault the day before, he had to be transported away by rescue helicopter. The Lauberhorn winner from 2022 and 2023 is likely to have suffered a serious leg injury, according to ORF information, an open fracture of the lower leg.
Image: GEPA pictures/ Mathias Mandl (GEPA pictures)
Marco Kohler also fell
A day before Pinturault, the Swiss Marco Kohler had already fallen on the shortened descent. Both suffered cruciate ligament tears. The Austrian Marco Schwarz suffered the same injury in the Bormio downhill run just after Christmas. “That’s the bad aftertaste of this victory again today. When a friend falls, it’s always really not nice,” said Odermatt on Saturday.
After the shock of Kilde’s crash, the race was practically over. No athlete came within less than 2.20 seconds of Odermatt. That was, of all people, Kilde’s compatriot Adrian Smiseth Sejersted, who achieved his best World Cup result in a downhill.
“The deficit is devastating, you have to be honest. It’s like doing another sport,” said Kriechmayr after his ride. “The Brüggli-S didn’t turn out quite well again, and I didn’t get the Langentrejen exit well either.” A lot has to change by Kitzbühel. Kilde’s fate and the long break had no effect on his performance. “Of course it’s always bitter when you see another athlete fall. But that’s part of it, it’s unfortunately part of our sport.”
Striedinger wasn’t happy with himself either. “I didn’t really get going today,” said the Carinthian. If he tried to copy Odermatt, he would also end up on the internet. “You can’t copy a skier. You couldn’t copy Hermann Maier either.”
