The ski bulletin for the weekend: Schrei-Shiffrin and Odermatt on the trail of a legend

although Marco Odermatt (26) has the worst conditions of all in the second round, he takes his 25th World Cup victory on the ultra-steep Face de Bellevarde. With his enormous consistency, the man from Nidwalden is reminiscent of the Swedish millennium athlete Ingemar Stenmark (67, 86 World Cup victories): Since October 24, 2021, Odermatt has participated in 20 giant slaloms (including the World Cup and the Olympic Games) and without exception reached the podium .

They come out Mikaela Shiffrin (28, USA). The American star wins a descent in St. Moritz for the first time and is euphoric in the interview afterwards. “I don’t know if you can hear it in the video of my ride, but I kept shouting ‘Whooooo’ and ‘Wooohoo’ the whole time. That was fun.” With her 91st World Championship victory, Shiffrin sends a clear signal. Which? That it will be almost impossible to deny her the 6th victory in the overall World Cup.

The Bernese Oberland Sandro Zurbrügg (21) achieved a feat in Val-d’Isère that neither Marcel Hirscher nor Marco Odermatt had achieved in previous years – the 21-year-old finished in the top 20 on his World Cup debut. The trained car mechanic from Frutigen is ranked number 69 in 17th place.

In just four days (two practices, two races), five drivers were seriously injured in the Engadine: Nina Ortlieb (27, O), Elisabeth Reisinger (27, O), Elena Curtoni (32, It), Caroline Pichler (29, It) and Inni Holm Wembstad (23, No). What is going on? ÖSV head coach Roland Assinger says: “In St. Moritz there are no trees due to the height and therefore hardly any contrast for the runners. Without sun there is hardly any view of the ground. It’s no different than when you’re an amateur skier: you feel a little dizzy on your skis.”

Placed in the top 10 for the first time Joan Verdu (28) barely finished twelfth in Alta Badia last winter. That’s why almost no one in Val-d’Isère expected the 28-year-old to make an exploit. But the Andorrean deceived almost everyone and finished third behind the two Marcos, Odermatt and Schwarz. It is the first time in the almost 57-year history of the World Cup that an athlete from the mini-principality (79,000 inhabitants) has stood on the podium.

Before the Engadin weekend, the Swiss were number 1 in the national rankings, but not anymore. The Italian women in the neighborhood Sofia Goggia (31) and Federica Brignone (33) overtake the Swiss ski athletes and are now 78 points ahead. Just three places in the top 10 is not enough, even if that is true Lara Gut-Behrami (32) comes third in the Super-G. “That is not what we expect,” says Alpine director Hans Flatscher.

Shortly after his victory in the World Cup parallel giant Germany Alexander Schmid (29) tore the cruciate ligament. Nine months later, the Allgäuer returns impressively: 9th place.

“It’s like I’ve been asleep for almost four years and now I’m waking up again,” he says Alice Merryweather (27, USA) with tears in her eyes after departure. She comes last, loses almost six seconds and is still a winner. Merryweather returns to the World Cup after 1,379 days, an eating disorder and many serious injuries. «At some point I lost my love for skiing. Now I’m just proud of myself,” she says.

Janez Hladink serves as race director for the men’s technical competitions at the International Ski Association. The Slovenian plays an unfortunate role on Face de Bellevarde. Unlike his predecessor Hans Pieren, he and his crew are unable to create an icy, really thick piste base. His decision to clear the fresh snow on the difficult slopes caused collective shaking of heads during the night from Saturday to Sunday. After this action, the track completely collapses and the slalom has to be canceled despite good weather.