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12/07 15:38 CST Swiss racer Marco Odermatt takes World Cup giant slalom for his
2nd win at Beaver Creek in 4 days
Swiss racer Marco Odermatt takes World Cup giant slalom for his 2nd win at
Beaver Creek in 4 days
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) --- Marco Odermatt of Switzerland cruised to a World
Cup giant slalom win Sunday for his second victory on the Birds of Prey course
in a four-day span.
After winning Thursday's downhill, Odermatt found more speed through the tricky
GS setup and finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 20.59 seconds. He held
off Alex Vinatzer of Italy by 0.23 seconds. Norwegian skier Henrik
Kristoffersen finished third.
Odermatt got back on track in the GS after falling in the first run at Copper
Mountain, Colorado, on Nov. 28. It ended a streak of eight straight World Cup
podium finishes in the GS.
The snow at Beaver Creek always seems to bring out the best in Odermatt. He's
finished in the top three on nine occasions, including five wins, at this hill.
His first World Cup victory was in a super-G at Beaver Creek on Dec. 6, 2019.
For all the success he's had at the venue, though, Odermatt has struggled in
the giant slalom at Birds of Prey. His best finish was 27th in the discipline
at Beaver Creek --- until Sunday.
That may be why he let out a scream after he saw his winning time.
"It's very special," said Odermatt, who now has 28 World Cup wins in GS. "The
giant slalom today was somehow missing on my portfolio. Yeah, I'm super happy."
So, which win means more this weekend --- the downhill or the GS?
"Those are always tough questions," Odermatt said. "I think I still have to go
with the downhill because downhill is just something different."
It was Vinatzer's fourth career World Cup podium and first in the GS.
American racer River Radamus was 18th after the first run but moved up to sixth
place with a strong final performance. His teammates, Ryder Sarchett (25th) and
George Steffey (27th), also finished in the top 30.
The men's circuit moves to Val d'Isere, France, next weekend for a giant slalom
and slalom.
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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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