Swiss 1-2-3, 635 points. Loïc Meillard won the giant slalom in Hafjell on Saturday, 0.14 seconds ahead of Marco Odermatt and 0.23 ahead of Thomas Tumler. Odermatt’s second place gave him a 635-point lead over Henrik Kristoffersen with five events left. That clinches his fourth consecutive overall title. It also secures the giant slalom globe, with one GS left.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loïc MeillardSUI | SUI | — |
| 2 | Marco OdermattSUI | SUI | +0.14 |
| 3 | Thomas TumlerSUI | SUI | +0.23 |
| 4 | Lucas Pinheiro BraathenBRA | BRA | n/a |
The race
Three Swiss skiers inside 0.23. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was fourth for Brazil, pushed off the podium by the Swiss trio. Kristoffersen needed to finish well ahead of Odermatt to delay the title. He was 16th. River Radamus was seventh, equal to his best GS result of the season.
Tumler, third, won his first World Cup GS in Beaver Creek in December at 35, the oldest first-time GS winner.
The overall was effectively settled some time ago. Kristoffersen does not race speed events, so his points come from only two disciplines.
Numbers
- 4: consecutive overall titles. Odermatt is the sixth man with at least four overall globes, and only the second to win four in a row after Marcel Hirscher, who won eight straight from 2012 to 2019.
- 4: consecutive giant slalom globes, 106 points clear of Kristoffersen with one race left.
- 87: World Cup podiums, a Swiss men’s record, passing Pirmin Zurbriggen’s 83. Vreni Schneider has 101.
- 2: GS DNFs to open the season, Sölden included.
Still open
The super-G globe was already his last week. In the downhill he leads teammate Franjo von Allmen by 83 points before the finals in Sun Valley. In the slalom, Kristoffersen leads by 77 points going into Sunday.
He started this GS season with two DNFs and still has the globe with a race to spare. The finals start in Sun Valley next weekend.