The most valuable second place of his career: Odermatt shines on and off the track in Bormio

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Cyprien Sarrazin is also called “Psycho” in the ski circus. That’s because no one else takes as many risks as the 29-year-old Frenchman. As this ‘win or lose’ strategy resulted in more serious injuries several times, by the time he arrived in Bormio Sarrazin had only one podium finish to his name (2nd place in the 2019 Alta Badia Giants).

But on the “Stelvio” in Bormio, the breakneck plan of the 1.85 meter tall man from the south of France worked perfectly – although Marco Odermatt (26) also rode sensationally well, Sarrazin was nine-hundredths faster at the finish.

The world champion from the canton of Nidwalden will have to wait a little longer for his first downhill World Cup victory. “But this is probably the most valuable second place I have achieved so far,” Odermatt emphasizes. «I probably had the best downhill performance of my career. And at the finish I was sure that was enough to win. But Cyprien was just a little faster. You can’t ski better than him on this slope. I congratulated him on that from the bottom of my heart.”

Murisier’s downhill masterpiece

The two-time overall World Cup winner also beams after this downhill thriller, because two of his best friends are also among the winners of this race. We’re talking about Justin Murisier and Marco Kohler. Former giant slalom specialist Murisier (3rd in Alta Badia in 2020) races to fourth place with starting number 29 and thus achieves the best downhill result of his World Cup career.

The 31-year-old from Valais usually shares a room or apartment with Odermatt in the ski circus. “Marco and I really discuss everything together,” Murisier reveals. After the last training on Wednesday, the two spoke for a very long time. «Marco wasn’t sure which binding to use in the race. And since I burned the ski base during this training, I was in doubt about the choice of ski model. But together we found the right solutions,” said Murisier.

Kohler’s impressive confirmation

Odermatt has also had intense conversations with Marco Kohler since he was a child – the two young people met at a Migros Grand Prix final when they were 14. The Bernese Oberlander was sometimes considered the greater talent than Odermatt. But after the son of a car dealer from Meiningen suffered total damage to his left knee as a previous driver on the Lauberhorn in 2020, a return to the ski circus was considered very unlikely by doctors. But Kohler has achieved the seemingly impossible.

Last week he finished eighth in the shortened downhill in Val Gardena in his third World Cup race and reached the top ten for the first time. He now achieved an even more impressive result on his debut on the Stelvio – Kohler finished tenth on one of the most difficult slopes in the world. “Odi played a big role in these results,” says Kohler. “He is an excellent contact person for me. We regularly analyze the processes on video together and exchange ideas after the viewings.”

Odermatt’s weaknesses

Odermatt is also not entirely innocent of the fact that his friend Kohler has found happiness in love. “We were on vacation together in Costa Rica when I met my girlfriend. Odi’s positive character helped me to talk to this woman.”

With all love: Justin Murisier discusses two details that are not positive about Marco Odermatt. “To the annoyance of some of my teammates, Odi, like me, almost always arrives a minute late to team meetings. And he can lose even worse than me.’ But as for the upcoming Super-G in Bormio, there is nothing to indicate that Buochser will lose. “If he drives normally, the Odi will not be defeated in this Super-G,” predicts Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr with conviction.

Source : Blick