And black is out:

The competition is worried! Odermatt now even better?

Marco Schwarz (right) can only continue to watch Marco Odermatt (left) chase the title.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Is the dominator of the past ski seasons now even better? Marco Odermatt is said to be in the form of his life, according to reports from Switzerland. What's more, ÖSV ace Marco Schwarz, his most recent rival, is still out. So the competition is already worried ahead of the start in Sölden.  

Alejo Hervas is said to be the key to Odermatt being able to improve even further in the coming ski season. Improve? With the successes that the Swiss has achieved in recent years - such as winning the overall World Cup three times in a row - it's hard to imagine. And yet it should be possible, as "Blick" reports.

According to the report, fitness trainer Hervas, known as the "Spanish grinder", is said to have made the 26-year-old even more efficient. The new man in the Odermatt team is said to have got the ski ace into the shape of his life. In the most recent strength and endurance tests, Odermatt improved his own best mark from the previous year by a whopping three percent.

Ideal preparation
Figures that should already be scaring the competition. "We found top conditions on the glacier in Saas Fee in the second week of August, after which we were very lucky with the weather in South America. In contrast to other years, we didn't lose a single day of training in Argentina and Chile," says Swiss giant slalom head coach Helmut Krug, expressing his satisfaction.

Everything seems to be set for another season dominated by Odermatt. Especially as his most recent rival Marco Schwarz is still out of action. "I don't want to get stressed. It will take some time," the ÖSV athlete still can't say when he will return to the World Cup. At the end of October, when the competition races in Sölden, Schwarz wants to get going again on snow with "leisurely free skiing". 

Schwarz does not want to risk his health
Even the home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in February (4th to 16th) are taking a back seat. "Ultimately, the home World Championships are a big goal, but I'm not planning to stop next year or the year after, I want to hang on for a few more years. My body is too important to me to put anything at risk for a home World Championships," summarizes Schwarz soberly. 

In December 2023, Schwarz crashed on the Stelvio in Bormio while leading the overall World Cup. The anterior cruciate ligament, inner meniscus and cartilage damage then had to be surgically repaired. He had already overcome the knee injury, but then his back started to hurt. At the end of August, an intervertebral disc was operated on after his lower leg had gone numb following some waiting and resting.

Commenting on the fabulous news about Odermatt, Schwarz explains: "I'm happy for everyone who is doing well." In any case, he can or only has to watch the Swiss rider's first races and does not yet have to compete against him.