Listen to this article
Approximately 3 minutes
The audio version of this article was created using artificial intelligence technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually analyze and improve results.
It took a historic achievement and some late sunshine to deny Marco Odermatt another World Championship victory.
No Czech had ever won a World Cup race in 60 seasons of alpine skiing until the unlikely Jan Zabistran started Friday's super-G in Val Gardena, Italy, in the lowly bib number of 29. Odermatt, the Swiss superstar, sat in the leader's box near the finishing area, hoping to take another victory after winning the downhill on Thursday.
But Zabristan, who had only one top-10 finish in his previous 56 World Cup races, stunned the field by taking advantage of better light to finish 0.22 seconds ahead of Odermatt.
“It's a beautiful day,” Zabristan said. “I saw the green light, it’s kind of crazy.”
Czech Jan Zabistran's time of 1:24.86 was enough to take his first World Cup victory on Friday in the super-G race in Val Gardena, Italy.
He is not the first surprise winner in Val Gardena, which is attuned to such quirks. On the course, nestled in the jagged Dolomites, sunlight can arrive late to light the way for late starters. Sometimes this can turn the standings around – as happened on Friday.
Zabristan was fastest on the sun-drenched lower part of the track, but he also posted the fastest break at the top to show that his victory was not a matter of luck.
Odermatt had been in the race about 50 minutes earlier when he was impressively aggressive while skiing in the dark just before noon.
Giovanni Franzoni, who finished third, also had a career-best performance of 0.37 back. The former world junior super-G champion had bib number 16 and was one of the first riders to experience the bright sunshine at the bottom of the course, where only Zabrystan was faster.
Other lower-ranked riders who shone included No. 43 Mathieu Baylet in fifth and Italian veteran Christoph Innerhofer in sixth with No. 30 just behind Zabristan.
Brodie Seger was the top Canadian finisher, crossing the finish line in 14th place.
Zabristan did not have the highest starting number among recent winners at Val Gardena. American downhiller Steven Nyman won the Saslong Classic in 2012 as 39th.
The 27-year-old Czech's previous best finish at a world championship was eighth in the super-G in Norway last year. He has competed in the last two Winter Olympics, failing to finish in six of nine events and with a best finish of 25th.
It's an indication of how good Odermatt was that he was the only one of the first 10 starters to finish in the top 10.
Odermatt extended his huge lead in the overall World Cup standings as he chased a fifth straight title. He also now leads the season super-G standings after three races.
North Vancouver's Brodie Seger finished 14th in 1:25.75 at Friday's World Cup super-G event in Val Gardena, Italy.
