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Yes, Marco won the World Cup giant slalom on Sunday. Just not the one expected in Alta Badia, Italy.
Marco Schwarz was first on the classic Gran Risa course, where Marco Odermatt, the dominant skier of his generation, has won five of the last six giant slaloms.
Wearing bib number 1, Schwartz took a commanding victory, protecting his lead from the first run and finishing in two minutes, 35.02 seconds, 18-100 ahead of Lucas Pinheiro Braaten of Brazil.
“This win means a lot to me,” said Schwartz, who has missed almost a full year of racing due to injury since his previous slalom win in December 2023.
“It’s good for the soul, good for the whole team,” he said, hugging third-place Austrian teammate Stefan Brennsteiner (2:35.24) at the finish line.
Marco Schwarz clocked 2:35.02 in the giant slalom on Sunday at the World Cup in Alta Badia, Italy.
Pinheiro Braaten has been the only rider to win the Alta Badia giant slalom since Odermatt's winning streak began in December 2021. Pinheiro Braaten competed for Norway in 2022 before switching to his mother's home country of Brazil with his first World Cup win in slalom last month.
Fatigue may have caught up with Odermatt after a tough three-day program of speed racing in nearby Val Gardena, where he has been racing since Thursday won downhill and took second place in downhill And super G.
Odermatt finished sixth on Sunday in 2:35.84 and showed a rare outburst as he crossed the finish line. Odermatt still leads the overall season standings, chasing a sixth title in a row, with more than double the points of second-placed Schwartz.
It was the seventh career World Cup victory and second in giant slalom for the 30-year-old Schwartz, one of the most versatile skiers on the men's circuit. His previous GS win was in California at Palisades-Tahoe in February 2023.
The only Canadian to compete was Calgary's Eric Reid, who missed the top 30 on his first run and finished 32nd in 1:18.70.
Watch the second run of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom race in Alta Badia, Italy.
Russia has been granted approved neutral status
The race featured the first Russian skier to compete in a men's World Cup event in nearly four years since a ban imposed during the war with Ukraine by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation was eased.
This month, 35-year-old Alexander Andrienko received approved neutral status from the FIS, allowing him to resume competition and try to qualify for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February.
Given his starting number 39 on Sunday, Andrienko was 52nd fastest and more than one second behind the top 30 who qualify for a second run. Neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus must compete without their national team colors and flag.
Absent from the squad was Norway's Alexander Steen Olsen, who decided to undergo season-ending knee surgery this week due to a persistent injury.
Steen Olsen was a two-time World Cup giant slalom winner last season and a medal contender at the Olympics. Odermatt is an Olympic champion in giant slalom.
