2024-03-16 12:02:58
Incredible but true: Marco Odermatt did not win the last giant of the season, contested this Saturday in Saalbach (Austria), following winning the first nine races of the winter in this discipline. The Swiss had set the best time in the first round, but quickly went out in the second, following a few gates, due to an inside fault which completely unbalanced him. Ingemar Stenmark therefore remains the only rider to have achieved the giant grand slam in the history of the World Cup (ten successes out of ten in 1978-79).
Odermatt remained on 12 consecutive victories in giant, spanning two seasons. He was also on the podium in his last 26 giants contested. This is his first retirement in the discipline since his loss at Beaver Creek in December 2019.
Second in the first round, 40 hundredths behind Odermatt, Loïc Meillard took advantage of his compatriot’s misstep to win, with 71 hundredths ahead of the Andorran Joan Verdu and 79 over another Swiss, Thomas Tumler. Meillard took the opportunity to take second place in the general classification behind Odermatt, and 71 points ahead of the Austrian Manuel Feller, 9th in this giant.
Thibaut Favrot took 11th place (+1”62).
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