The total ski show of Switzerland

The Swiss ski racers celebrated a triple triumph at the World Cup in Val d'Isère. The competition watched in amazement – including Alex Vinatzer, who secured another top finish.

13 December 2025

From: fop

However, the victory in the giant slalom in the French Alps did not go to alpine dominator Marco Odermatt, who had triumphed four times in a row on the "Face de Bellevard" slope, but to his teammate Loic Meillard.

The slalom world champion won by 18 hundredths of a second ahead of fellow countryman Luca Aerni, Odermatt came in third – thus the total show by the Swiss was perfect.

Loic Meillard during his streamlined finish. © ANSA / SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner, who was leading after the first run, dropped back to fifth place in the final. He shared this fate with numerous other top athletes who had major problems with the course in the second run.

Vinatzer in the top ten

After the first run, Alex Vinatzer was still within striking distance of the podium, but he slipped back from sixth to eighth place in the second run. The 26-year-old from Val Gardena, who recently achieved his first giant slalom podium in North America, lost a few turns and thus used up his lead. In the end, he was 65 hundredths of a second behind Meillard.

Alex Vinatzer during his giant slalom appearance in France. © ANSA / SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Vinatzer was by far the best Italian. Filippo Della Vite (15th) and Luca De Aliprandini (26th) finished further back in the standings, while Giovanni Borsotti crashed out in the second run. Tobias Kastlunger from Enneberg (45th) failed to qualify for the final run.

The men will compete in a slalom race in Val d'Isère on Sunday.