The super-G in Val Gardena ended with a major surprise: Czech skier Jan Zabystran, starting with bib number 29, took full advantage of the improving conditions on the Saslong and sensationally clinched his first World Cup victory.
A look at Zabystran’s career to date underlines just how extraordinary this triumph is. Prior to the race in Val Gardena, the 27-year-old had never finished higher than eighth in a World Cup event, and on the Saslong he had never placed better than 20th. Since Friday, Zabystran can now call himself a World Cup winner—and in doing so, he has made history: since the introduction of the Alpine Ski World Cup in 1967, no Czech athlete had ever won a World Cup race.
Second place in the super-G went to top favorite Marco Odermatt, who missed out on his third Val Gardena/Gröden victory by just over two tenths of a second. For a long time, the Swiss skier looked like the certain winner but was ultimately narrowly beaten by Zabystran. Odermatt lost valuable time in the final section after making a crucial mistake, which proved decisive.
Franzoni Races onto the World Cup Podium for the First Time
Another highlight came from Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni. The young “Azzurro” delivered a strong performance to finish third, securing the first World Cup podium of his career.
The two Frenchmen Nils Allègre and Matthieu Bailet narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth and fifth respectively. South Tyrolean veteran Christof Innerhofer once again delivered a strong performance: just 24 hours after placing eleventh in the sprint downhill, the 41-year-old finished an impressive sixth in the super-G.
Among the athletes beaten on Friday were Vincent Kriechmayr (Austria) and Dominik Paris (Ultimo). After a flawed run, Kriechmayr finished ninth and relinquished the lead in the super-G discipline standings to Odermatt, while Paris was unable to place higher than 25th.
Britain's Roy Steudle was one of 18 racers not to make the finish.
Jan Zabystran (CZE | 1st place): "Crossing the finish line with bib 29 and seeing the number one next to my name is sensational – something like this has never happened to me in my entire career! The victory feels surreal; it's really like a childhood dream come true. I'm even a little surprised that I can ski so fast on the Saslong, because not so long ago I would have been happy with a top 30 result here. I used to look up to my compatriot Ondřej Bank, and now I'm on the podium myself. It's a wonderful feeling!"
Marco Odermatt (SUI | 2nd place): "My run was at the limit, I risked everything – of course it's a bit annoying when you get caught so late, because we with the low numbers are basically skiing in the dark and the athletes with higher start numbers have the course in the sun. My mistake in the final section probably cost me the victory. In other places, I might have stayed in the lead. Nevertheless, anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity with a higher start number deserves it. Congratulations to Jan!“
Giovanni Franzoni (ITA | 3rd place): ”It's crazy – here in Val Gardena/Gröden, I've always been behind, but this year everything is different. I was already fast yesterday, although of course I had the weather on my side. I would like to dedicate this success to my recently deceased teammate Matteo Franzoso, who would certainly have been proud of me and was watching over us from above today. I still think about him a lot because we really went through thick and thin together."
Christof Innerhofer (ITA/Gais | 6th place): “I'm super happy with my race. I was able to celebrate the great result with the fans in the finish area and really enjoyed the moment. Up until Ciaslat, I was even on course for the best time, but I didn't have enough time during the inspection this morning to take a close look at the lower part of the course. That's why I played it safe there and probably missed out on a podium place.”
Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT | 9th place): "Unfortunately, I didn't have a good run today. I made a silly mistake in the middle section, which cost me a lot of speed and ultimately a top placing. That annoys me, especially because this happened to me here in Val Gardena/Gröden for the second time. Now I need to digest and analyze the whole thing – tomorrow in the downhill, I'll risk everything to still race a good result“
Dominik Paris (ITA/Ulten | 25th place): ”I tried to push hard, but overall I was too cautious. I also made a mistake in the Ciaslat, which cost me additional time. Nevertheless, I am highly motivated for tomorrow: I currently feel good about my skiing, and the fact that I wasn't among the fastest today doesn't bother me. I would like to give special praise to Giovanni Franzoni – he has often been very fast in training and has now shown this performance in a race for the first time."
Full results
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