Will he tackle Maier and Eberharter?: Odermatt chases the next ski giants in Adelboden

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Austrian superstar Hermann Maier (51, two-time Olympic champion and world champion) was the last person to win the giant slalom in Adelboden BE for the third time in a row 23 years ago. After Marco Odermatt (26) improved Maier’s World Cup points record (2000 points in the 1999/2000 season) to 2042 points last March, he was also able to achieve Chuenisbärgli’s hat trick on Saturday.

Blick expert Bernhard Russi (75) gets involved in a historic gimmick before Buochser’s next big attack. The old downhill champion (world champion in 1970, Olympic champion in 1972) answers the question who would win if Odermatt and Maier, of the same age, with the same equipment, competed against each other in a giant slalom at their very best: “I believe that Odermatt in this match had the better cards.”

Russi’s reasoning: “Maier was a machine that controlled almost everything with her enormous unstoppable power. No one else has prepared more intensively, no one has visited a route for so long. Marco, on the other hand, is an absolute artist. An enormous talent with great self-confidence. When something doesn’t go as planned for him, he can improvise brilliantly. That is why I believe that Odermatt’s art would prevail over Maier’s power plant.”

Salzburg Maier’s arch enemy was the Tyrolean Stephan Eberharter (54). In addition to Maier with his hat trick Chuenisbärgli, the now 54-year-old Olympic giant slalom champion from 2002 is also in Odermatt’s sights. The reason? Eberharter won no fewer than 29 World Cup victories between 1998 and 2004. Odermatt is also aiming for his 29th World Cup victory on Saturday.

Eberharter expects Odi to surpass him soon

“But the 29 mark is definitely just a stopover for Marco,” the Austrian explained in an interview with Blick. Eberharter is completely enthusiastic about Central Switzerland: “Marco especially impressed me shortly before Christmas. After finishing twice on the podium at the speed races in Val Gardena, he took two major victories in Alta Badia within 24 hours. Considering this huge schedule, it was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen while skiing.”

The overall World Cup winner of the 2001/02 and 2002/03 seasons is also impressed with the way the Swiss athlete has carried out his off-piste duties over the past two years. «In my sporting heyday, I didn’t go to PR and media appointments that often because otherwise I would lack the strength and freshness for competition. But Marco doesn’t seem to mind at all; He also handles the media marathons after the races with playful ease. The man is just incredibly strong!”

Source : Blick