1,030 days. Marco Schwarz won the giant slalom on the Gran Risa in Alta Badia on Sunday in 2:35.02, 0.18 seconds ahead of Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, with Stefan Brennsteiner third. It was his first giant slalom win in 1,030 days, counting from Palisades Tahoe on 25 February 2023; the FIS report put it at 1,032.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco SchwarzAUT | AUT | 2:35.02 |
| 2 | Lucas Pinheiro BraathenBRA | BRA | +0.18 |
| 3 | Stefan BrennsteinerAUT | AUT | n/a |
| 6 | Marco OdermattSUI | SUI | +0.82 |
First down the hill
Schwarz started the first run and took more than half a second off the field from bib 1. On the Gran Risa, going first means no information: no ruts to read, no reports from the radio, and a steep section that gets faster as it gets scraped. He built the lead there and defended a shrinking margin through the second run on bumpy gates.
Pinheiro Braathen came 0.18 short and summarised the discipline: close calls and margins. Brennsteiner took third and the giant slalom standings lead.
The injuries behind the number
Schwarz tore a cruciate ligament in the Bormio downhill in December 2023 while leading the overall World Cup. A herniated disc followed. He returned roughly a year before this race and spent that year short of form and confidence. His verdict: being back on the top step meant a lot.
Odermatt, sixth
Odermatt finished 0.82 back. According to FIS this was the first time since March 2021 that he had reached the finish of a World Cup giant slalom without making the podium, ending a run of 36 consecutive giant slalom podiums counting from Sölden 2021. The site’s own archive counts consecutive-podium streaks differently, breaking them on a non-finish, and has his longest GS podium streak at 13 races. Both are true of different questions.
What followed
- Six days later Schwarz won the first World Cup race ever held at Livigno, a super-G, by 0.20 from Alexis Monney. Two wins in a week, in two disciplines, after two years without one.
- Atle Lie McGrath won the Alta Badia slalom the next day by 0.30 from Clément Noël.
- Odermatt won the next giant slalom he started, in Adelboden, by 0.49, for a fifth consecutive win there.
Schwarz did not win again in 2025/26. He ended the season with two wins and three podiums: both wins inside seven days in December, plus second place in Sölden in October.