Marco Odermatt from Switzerland took gold in the penultimate Giant Slalom race of the season, taking the title for the 2023 World Cup GS Championship title.
This comes after he claimed the World Cup globe yesterday, the trophy awarded to the racer with the most points across all the alpine disciplines.
The Swiss held the lead from the first run despite having red lights in the middle sector having his race, defending off the charge from Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen.
He got late in the line as the steep turned to flat at the top of the course but made an excellent recovery. His close out was what made the difference in the end, charging to the line with ferocity.
His Swiss team-mate Loic Meillard had a disappointing first leg, placing 18th, and could only manage 11th after the second run. This hinders his chances at a place in the top three in the GS table after home hero Zan Kranjec finished fourth, putting him third in the standings and 60 points ahead of Meillard in the table.
Kristoffersen was the closest to Odermatt in the race, after setting the fastest time on the second run, which was set by the Swiss’ coach Renzo Valsecchi. Although Odermatt is out of range in the title, he’s also too far ahead of third to be caught, he will finish second in the GS title.
French star Alexis Pinturault took the final step on the podium, picking up his ninth top three finish in in Kranjska Gora.
There was a personal best for young Italian star Fillipo Della Vite, at 21-years-old he took 6th position with a really strong display to hold off Austrian Marco Schwarz, he is one to watch for the future and having this breakthrough will do his confidence a lot of good.
Great Britain’s Charlie Raposo crashed out of the first run. Zak Carrick-Smith, also from Britain, made it two days forerunning at the event, the 16-year-old was awarded with the role for the weekend after winning the Pokal Loka, a Children's race in Slovenia.
The next men’s Giant Slalom race will be next week on Saturday March 18, where the likes of Zan Kranjec, Alexis Pinturault, Loic Meillard and Marco Schwarz will all be battling it out to take the final spot on the podium in the standings.
Words Jack Feneley
Pictures Zoom Agence