(Bormio) Swiss skier Marco Odermatt impressively extended his super-G dominance on Friday, winning the final men’s World Cup race of 2023 by a large margin.
The two-time overall champion used his elite technique on the demanding Stelvio course, beating Austrian Raphael Haaser by 0.98 seconds.
It was Odermatt’s 10th win and 17th podium in his last 20 super-G starts. He also won the end of year race in Italy last year.
“Another perfect super-G for me, almost like last year, a great performance too,” said Odermatt. I had a good plan, I skied smart where I needed to and I pushed where I wanted. »
Odermatt had the third fastest time in the first section, but was by far the fastest on all other parts of the course, including a faultless final section.
“The last part was fun to ski. I had a very tight line and I still managed to push. I picked up a lot of speed in the last flat,” said Odermatt, who has 28 World Cup victories.
“On the more difficult courses you need a lot of self-confidence. You shouldn’t overdo it and you have to stay focused. »
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde finished third, 1.31 seconds behind the winner. The Norwegian has become Odermatt’s main challenger for the overall title since Austrian Marco Schwarz suffered a knee injury during Thursday’s downhill, ending his season.
Odermatt leads Kilde by 396 points in the season standings. A win is worth 100 points.
“It shows how thin the line is between winning and losing or even getting injured,” Odermatt said of Schwarz’s accident. Very sad to lose him this year in the battle for the overall title, and also for the amateurs. »
Vincent Kriechmayr set the fastest time in the first section, but the Austrian 2021 world champion lacked speed in the middle corners. He finished fourth, 1.45 seconds behind the winner.
Cyprien Sarrazin, winner of Thursday’s downhill, was among the fastest starters in the super-G, but the Frenchman missed a gate at the start of the race.
Super-G world champion, Canadian James Crawford, finished 16th, 2.19 seconds behind Odermatt.
His compatriots Jeffrey Read and Brodie Seger finished 13th and 32nd respectively.
The race was stopped after Christof Innerhofer crashed into the safety net. The Italian, 2011 super-G world champion, initially got up, but was then evacuated by helicopter due to an unspecified injury.
