(Soldeu) Imperial Marco Odermatt wrapped up a record-breaking season on Saturday by beating the competition at the giants of Soldeu (Andorra) to set the highest men’s World Cup tally with 2,042 points.
Since the introduction of this mathematical system in 1992, only the Austrian terror Hermann Maier, “Herminator”, had reached the men’s mark of 2000 points, his total all stacks, 23 years ago.
With a 13th win this winter, Odermatt swept that record along with their competitors, relegated to more than two seconds on Saturday, a rare abyss at this level.
Despite reduced visibility and a track made difficult by the temperature and the passage of his competitors, the Swiss, who had already crushed the first race, managed a superb second passage, always on a thread, catching up with every little error caused by his crazy speed.
Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen was pushed back to 2.11s and Austrian Marco Schwarz to 2.29s.
Even if there is still a slalom to be played on Sunday to end the season, Odermatt should stop there since he does not usually compete in this discipline.
More than ever king of skiing, “Odi” has accumulated thirteen successes (seven in giant, six in super-G) this winter to seize the big crystal globe and the small globes of giant and super-G, two of his favorite disciplines.
He joins the Swede Ingemar Stenmark (in 1979) and the Austrians Hermann Maier (2001) and Marcel Hirscher (2018), co-holders of the men’s record for victories in a single winter.
Odermatt, Olympic giant champion in 2022, also won two world champion titles in February in Courchevel (downhill and giant). With his unique style, young age (25) and strength in three disciplines, he looks like he could rule alpine skiing for years to come.
If he is looking for a new challenge, he can always tackle the absolute points record of the Slovenian Tina Maze (2414 in 2013), which even Mikaela Shiffrin has not been able to beat, for the moment (2106 this winter before one last race, 2204 in 2019).
She also won thirteen times this season, Shiffrin was dominated on Saturday in the slalom by the Slovak Petra Vlhova and the Croatian Leona Popovic.
“We had very different conditions, it was interesting to ski. It’s good to finish like this in the slalom, it gives me indications on what I have to work on, ”she explained to the microphone of Eurosport.
Long assured of a fifth big crystal globe, the American with 87 successes on the circuit, a new record set last week, is the favorite for the last race of the winter, a giant, Sunday in Andorra.
