Magic on the Gran Risa: This ski show enchants Alta Badia

One spectacle after the next: this is the motto of the South Tyrolean World Cup week. After Dominik Paris's fairytale triumph on the Saslong, the giant slalom riders now provided a memorable race a few kilometers further on the Gran Risa.

17 December 2023

From: det

Who will be the King of Gran Risa? That was the question that concerned the ski world on Sunday. And the answer isn't very surprising. Marco Odermatt took victory in Alta Badia and has now raced onto the podium in his 21st giant slalom in a row (World Cup, Olympics, World Cup). These are incredible numbers from the Swiss overall World Cup winner.

Why Odermatt is the best giant slalom player in the world became clear once again on Sunday. The Swiss was already in the lead after the first round, 31 hundredths of a second ahead of Filip Zubcic. And then this: The Croatian made the decision of his life. The 30-year-old curved down the extremely icy and steep Gran Risa as if he were on rails. At the finish there was a lead of an incredible two seconds over Zan Kranjec, who had been leading until then. Zubcic, who won three races in his career, looked at the scoreboard in disbelief and couldn't believe it himself.

Filip Zubcic couldn't believe it at the finish. © APA/afp / TIZIANA FABI

But one man was still at the top. And that was Marco Odermatt. Should the Swiss actually manage to top this dream run? The answer is: yes! Although Odermatt initially lost some of the lead, the giant slalom machine really got hot as the race continued and finally crossed the finish line with a lead of almost two tenths of a second. The fifth giant slalom win in a row across the season was dry - and Zubcic shook his head in disbelief. The fact that the two ski stars were in a league of their own is shown by the gap between third place: Zan Kranjec lost 2,26 seconds to “Odi”.

Vinatzer shines again

Another winner of the day goes by the name Alex Vinatzer. The man from Val Gardena is getting better and better at giant slalom. After his 14th place in Val d'Isére, the slalom specialist now also achieved a solid placing in Alta Badia and landed in 19th place. And that despite the fact that he still has to start the race with high starting numbers. So he was on the road with the 43 on Sunday. In the second round, “Vinni” had the fourth best running time and was ultimately the best Azzurro after Giovanni Borsotti (14th). Hannes Zingerle also collected good World Cup points in 24th place.

Alex Vinatzer has reason to be happy. © APA/afp / TIZIANA FABI

Nonsberg's Luca De Aliprandini - nominally the strongest giant slalomist in Italy - was eliminated in the first round, as was Tobias Kastlunger. Meanwhile, Simon Maurberger didn't make it into the top 30. The South Tyrolean World Cup week isn't over yet. On Monday there will be another giant slalom on the Gran Risa from 10 a.m.