If Aerni was an unexpected figure on the podium, the supreme Odermatt was not. The four-time defending globe winner in the discipline has landed in the top three in the last 36 World Cup GS races he has completed, dating all the way back to the 2021 World Cup finals.
On Saturday, however, he only just made it.
Skiing cautiously in a more direct first run set by the Swiss coaching staff, Odermatt managed only fourth. When he caught his hand in a gate midway down the second run and finished third with three skiers to come, it seemed his podium streak would come to an end.
But the three fastest men from the first run who followed him — Timon Haugan (NOR/Van Deer), Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR/Van Deer) and finally Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT/Fischer) — all faltered, allowing Odermatt to hang on to third.
“With those two runs I’m not actually happy with my skiing, but to end up on a podium with two friends on the top, that’s an amazing day,” the Swiss star said.
“It was a tough week, with the jet lag, with coming back to different snow. It was not that easy today to get into this 100% race focus. But still, I skied down twice with a fight and luckily it was enough for the podium.”
