ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — Marco Odermatt carried his remarkable streak in the giant slalom to another World Cup victory Saturday in his home country’s classic race staged in unusually warm weather.
Odermatt, the Olympic champion, protected his lead in the first race as the light was fading and even extended it with the fastest time on stage two to finish 0.73sec ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen.
Kristoffersen bowed respectfully as he greeted Odermatt at the finish area and gave him a thumbs up. Odermatt’s teammate Loïc Meillard was 1.66 in third.
A fourth victory in five World Cup giant slaloms since October for the 25-year-old Swiss was also his 14th consecutive podium finish in his featured discipline over the past two seasons. That career includes his gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. last february.
Odermatt’s 17th victory in World Cup races was her 11th in giant slalom. He extended the defending champion’s huge lead in the overall World Cup standings.
The local favorite was carried to the finish line by a crowd of over 20,000 people, mostly gathered around the steep final slope of the famous Chuenisbärgli course.
Warm winter weather with no snow for several weeks in central Europe created conditions that Swiss broadcaster RTS described as “almost a miracle” for organizers to be able to stage a race.
The runners skied down a white ribbon of soft, sun-drenched artificial snow bordered by lush green fields that are cow pastures in the summer.
The temperature was just above freezing for the first race on Saturday morning and climbed to around 7 degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit) when the second stage started at 1:30 p.m. local time.
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