Brennsteiner sixth

Men’s giant slalom in Hafjell – LIVE from 9.30 am

The podium in Hafjell.

(Bild: GEPA)

Overall World Cup winner Marco Odermatt has secured the giant slalom globe early with a second place at his World Cup comeback in Hafjell. Slalom World Champion Loic Meillard led a Swiss triple victory on Saturday in Norway ahead of Odermatt (+0.14 sec.) and Thomas Tumler (+0.23). The best Austrian was Stefan Brennsteiner (+0.82) in sixth place, just over half a second off the podium for the half-time fourth from Salzburg.

Odermatt was "very relieved", as the 27-year-old emphasized after winning his fourth small crystal globe in the giant slalom. "I needed a second place for the globe and I achieved that by a very, very narrow margin. This mix of racing in two races, one for the day's victory and the other for the globe, is really exhausting," said Odermatt on ORF. Due to the many speed races, he had lost a bit of "that perfect feeling" from last season. "The fact that it's now enough for the small globe takes a lot of pressure off me for the final," he added.

Odermatt benefited from a poor result from his rival Henrik Kristoffersen, who is now 106 points behind. The local hero was unable to finish higher than 16th place, which means that the Swiss racer is also mathematically assured of the big crystal globe with a lead of 635 points five races before the end of the season. However, this was practically a foregone conclusion even before the World Cup weekend in Hafjell, as Kristoffersen will not be competing in the World Cup finale in Sun Valley, at least in the downhill.

Here are the results:

Brennsteiner disappointed, Haaser with blood on his face
Brennsteiner would have hoped for a podium place, in the second run he said he was drawn to a slightly rounder line. "I tried to keep all my heart on the track today. I actually feel that I can't really blame myself much, but I still wasn't quite there. Unfortunately, I was just a bit too slow today," he said.

Stefan Brennsteiner

(Bild: AP/Gabriele Facciotti)

Giant slalom world champion Raphael Haaser was eighth in the first run and had the fastest time in the final, but crashed shortly before the finish. The Tyrolean caught a gate with one hand and fell hard on his back at high speed. After a short breather, the 27-year-old skied to the finish line on one ski with a bloodied face. "We need to see a dentist, he has massive jaw and facial injuries. They need to be checked out," said head coach Marko Pfeifer, whose protégé was hit by a gate while sliding and was knocked out for a few seconds as a result. "But it looks like he's fine as far as his legs and other extremities are concerned."

Last RTL race for Feller
Manuel Feller (+3.06), who was in poor health, had to settle for 26th place in what was probably his last giant slalom race. "It was a fight from top to bottom", said the Tyrolean after his exhausting runs on ORF. Feller would have liked to continue racing in the giant slalom until the 2026 Olympic Games, but he is no longer in the top 30 of the discipline rankings. "I certainly won't be racing around with bib number 50, I'm not doing that to myself," emphasized the 32-year-old.

If Feller reaches the 500-point mark in the slalom next season, which would guarantee him a better bib number, "then I would like to have a good race to finish with in the giant slalom," he said. "If that's not the case, today will be my last giant slalom race. It went well for a long time and I was able to celebrate many great successes." Feller has finished on the podium seven times in the giant slalom, but has not managed a World Cup victory with four second places.

Next chance of victory in the slalom
In the slalom on Sunday (9.30/12.30), the ÖSV men will have their next opportunity for their first World Cup victory of the current season. However, expectations are subdued, at least for Feller. "I've spent a lot of time in the horizontal last week. It's slowly getting better," said Feller, who made his first turns in two weeks on Friday. "It's no longer the case that I'm ill, but I'm definitely not yet at 100 percent energy level." That's why he doesn't want to talk about winning in this situation, a podium finish is the goal. Feller will be supported in Hafjell by a fan club in Norway with more than 500 members. "This is a great honor. I will try to do my best so that they have something to celebrate."

Schwarz is also hoping for a sense of achievement after a mixed slalom season with many failures since his comeback. "I want to fight and I'm convinced that I can compete among the world's best. Even if it's a bit more difficult, I don't want to give up so easily," emphasized the 29-year-old, who recently completed two slalom training days on the Reiteralm. His back problems should soon no longer be an issue. "I'm convinced that if I get a break after the season and my body can catch its breath, I'll be fine again," he emphasized. Schwarz still doesn't want to follow head coach Marko Pfeifer's advice not to race the slalom next season. "He's been telling me that for a few years now. The love for slalom is still there, it's still burning."