Marco Schwarz, who had missed the podium in fourth place the day before, improved this time from third place following the first round and came second, 1.05 seconds behind Odermatt. The Slovenian Zan Kranjec came third (+1.22).
For Odermatt it was his 27th World Cup triumph, his 17th in giant slalom and his sixth RTL success en suite across seasons. Schwarz was happy regarding his 22nd World Cup podium, the fifth in giant slalom. “It was much better in terms of voting, so it’s more fun,” said Schwarz in an ORF TV interview. He hadn’t expected the leading Odermatt to fall back as he waited at the finish. “I’ve known Odi for so long, there’s no need to speculate,” said Schwarz.
In the overall World Cup, Black is now 92 points behind the Swiss. In the last race before Christmas, the slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Black might theoretically take back the yellow jersey. “I’m looking forward to the classic in Madonna,” said Schwarz with a smile.
Odermatt is looking forward to the Christmas break
Odermatt later admitted that he started the second run tactically. “A little bit when you’re eight or nine tenths ahead. Especially in the first few gates, which don’t suit me. It was really a big turnaround. I didn’t have to win the race, but I didn’t have to throw it away either.” But he was only able to enjoy the second round at the finish. “Being last in a giant slalom is always a fight, that’s part of it. When you reach the finish with a win, you can enjoy that.”
According to Odermatt, nothing happens by itself. “It’s a lot of hard work. Every run, every race, it starts from scratch and a lot can go wrong.” In any case, the Swiss is now looking forward to his Christmas break, while all-rounder Schwarz still has important points at stake in Madonna.
There was no top 15 place for the other Austrians: Patrick Feurstein ended up in 18th place, Manuel Feller in his 175th World Cup start in 20th place and Joshua Sturm scored his first World Cup points in 23rd place with start number 49 .
Brennsteiner was eliminated in the first round
“The second round was at times quite at the limit in terms of risk, but still much better,” explained Feurstein. “Things are going quite well for me in training, but for me the line is so narrow that I can get it right from the set-up,” said the Vorarlberg native.
Despite his first appearance in the points, Sturm was not completely satisfied. “I had actually decided that I would make another leap forward. It was perhaps a bit with the handbrake in mind that I would score the first points,” admitted the Pitztaler. “I’m not completely satisfied, but I can look back on a solid first (run).”
Stefan Brennsteiner was unable to repeat his top ten place from the day before, when he finished eighth. The Salzburger was eliminated in the first run following a ski error. “There are already a few aches and pains, there will probably be a few more tomorrow,” he said followingwards. The ligaments in the knee “should fit”. Before the fall, he had the feeling that he had been a bit sloppy in his swing approach, “which meant I had too much pressure following the goal.” He was later diagnosed with a bruised shin.
