By Canadian Press

Swiss ski star Marco Odermatt dominates World Cup super-G to match Bode Miller’s tally of 33 wins

Jan 28, 2024 | 4:52 PM

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Swiss ski star Marco Odermatt restored the pecking order in men’s World Cup super-G racing with a dominant victory Sunday, a day after he missed the podium for the first time in 13 races.

Racing in sunny conditions on the same course where he placed fourth in Saturday’s overcast super-G, Odermatt outpaced the field with an all-attacking run to lead runner-up Raphael Haaser of Austria by 0.30 seconds.

“The conditions for sure helped me. Today I knew the good snow is also next to the line, so I knew I can attack,” Odermatt said. “Even if I get off off the line, I can still manage to ski clean and don’t get injured and that was important for my mindset.”

It was Odermatt’s ninth super-G win from the last 16 races. Across all disciplines, the result marked his 33rd victory as he matched American great Bode Miller’s career tally.

“It was a run on the limit. We saw at inspection it would be a completely different race,” said Odermatt, referring to the iced top layer that made the course surface harder than in Saturday’s race.

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Toronto native James Crawford was fifth.

Odermatt said he had been “not too disappointed” after Saturday’s result.

“That can happen, a few hundredths off the podium. That was no problem for me, but of course it’s always nice for me to win,” the two-time defending overall champion said.

Franjo von Allmen added to the Swiss success by finishing 0.61 behind in third for his maiden podium, a day after he placed ninth in what is von Allmen’s first full season on the World Cup.

Odermatt praised his teammate, who made the top three in only his 12th start on skiing’s top-level circuit.

“Incredible, it’s Franjo’s first World Cup season. What he showed this season even before this podium was great. Today, he skied superbly. It’s the first of many podiums for him,” Odermatt said.

“For sure, it’s very cool that the next generation is coming up. I’m looking forward to watch them race after my career, chilling on the sofa. So, I hope many of them will come after me.”

The two racers who upset the favorites in Saturday’s race finished outside the top 10, as winner Nils Allegre trailed Odermatt by 1.20 in 14th and runner-up Guglielmo Bosca finished 1.31 behind in 18th, though the Italian posted the fastest start time in Sunday’s race.

Allegre’s French teammate Cyprien Sarrazin, who won a super-G in Wengen two weeks ago, failed to finish his run. Coming wide in a left turn, he adjusted his line but then missed the next gate after his right ski came up in the air.

Ranked second in the overall standings, Sarrazin saw the gap to leader Odermatt grow to a massive 722 points after after 23 of the 39 races this season.

Sarrazin will not be able to reduce the deficit next weekend, since speed events scheduled in Chamonix in his native France have been canceled due to poor snow conditions.

River Radamus started 34th but finished eighth, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle repeated his 10th-place finish from the day before in two strong results for the U.S. Ski Team.

German skier Josef Ferstl, who announced his retirement earlier this week, came down the Kandahar course in a farewell run before the race started.

Two-time World Cup winner Ferstl had his biggest success when he won the super-G in Kitzbuehel in 2019, four decades after his father, Sepp Ferstl, won two downhills at the resort in Austria.

Ferstl’s retirement came one week after German teammate Thomas Dressen, also a Kitzbuehel winner, ended his career.

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The Associated Press