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In the hours before the racers fought their way through the gates of the first GS run, most experts were betting on a fifth triumph of Swiss star Marco Odermatt, already a five time-winner in three specialties in the previous weeks. His three podium finishes in the previous days at Val Gardena including a victory in the first downhill proved his great form! The defending overall World Cup champions was aiming to move toward the record of six consecutive wins in giant slalom set by Marcel Hirscher from 2013 to 2018 - and of course reinforce his lead in the various World Cup standings.
Yet this time, the triple FIS World Champion and the 2022 Olympic gold medalist didn’t find his best rhythm on the challenging “Gran Risa” slope which so often favored his aggressive style. This time the 28-year-old Swiss had to content himself with a more discrete 6th place, failing for the first time since March 2021 to reach the podium in a giant slalom race he finished! He was only 11th in the morning run.
The celebrated hero of the day was Marco Schwarz, a strong 2nd at Soelden late October, and already a winner in giant slalom in California’s Palisades Tahoe back in February 2023. Starting with bib #1, the 2021 combined FIS World Champion at Cortina d’Ampezzo put himself immediately out of reach for his rivals, clearly dominating the first leg in the morning. Later on, he successfully defended his lead in the afternoon, beating finally by 18/100 of a second Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, a winner on the “Gran Risa” in December 2022 during his Norwegian days. It was the first GS podium in the new season for the 2023 slalom World Cup champion, a month after his historical slalom victory at Levi, in Finland.
Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner confirmed his surprising maiden triumph at Copper Mountain, USA, last November, with a strong 3rd place, good enough to retain the red leader bib in giant slalom. Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath was 4th - only 24/100 shy from the podium, beating by only 2/100 Germany’s Stefan Gratz, the fastest man in the second run after clocking ending a modest 29th in the morning!
Alex Vinatzer was the best Italian in 14th place – not what he was aiming for after capturing an encouraging 2nd place a few weeks earlier at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Swiss Luc Meillard, fresh from his spectacular win at Val d’Isère, could not do better that 10th.
Marco Schwarz had a hard time after the race to fully comprehend what just happened to him before moving to the podium to receive the prestigious “Gran Risa” winner’s trophy on the podium. “This is awesome, really fantastic. People can’t imagine what this success means to me after the past difficult two years. They have been so hard with all my health issues,” the 30-year-old first said after the race.
“I had to work so much during the past years to get back in shape, but I never doubted I could make it,” he added. “The moments before my start in the second run were absolutely nerve wrecking. So far, I have never been in the lead after the first run in a giant slalom, so it was a strange situation for me. I was very nervous as I knew the conditions would be very challenging in the afternoon,” also explained Marco whose last victory took place in December 2023 in Madonna di Campiglio’s famous night slalom. Only a week later, Schwarz suffered a very bad crash at Bormio which sidelined him for a long period.
The Austrian leader was of course aiming for another strong achievement the next day in slalom but a mistake in the second run killed his hope for it after an average first run. The battle for the last possible victory before Christmas concerned a group of other established specialists who already collected a series of promising results in previous weeks – France’s Olympic Champion Clément Noël, McGrath 3rd in 2024, Meillard 2nd recently at Val d’Isère, as well as Timon Haugan, the winner in 2024, and Pinheiro Braathen, aiming for revenge after his short loss from the previous day.
Only a few tenths of a second separated them after the first run captured by Noël and all of them fought very hard in the final leg! While the first starters in the second run, as Italy’s Tommaso Sala, took advantage of their excellent course conditions to move up in the final standings, the favorites had to overcome tougher conditions to remain in the hunt for a top result.
One after the other, Pinheiro Braathen, Haugen and Meillard set the fastest times after their final run, ending within a margin of 25/100. Everything was still possible with only two favorites left at the start. McGrath’s very aggressive strategy made a huge difference as he clearly beat all of them after his impressive charge! He took the lead with an advance of 39/100 on Meillard, putting great pressure on the leader Clément Noël.
The skier from Val d’Isère could not match his pace and only clocked the 22nd best time in his final run, losing 39/100 on his Norwegian rival who ended a long period of drought that day. Atle Lie’s last victory took place in January 2025 at Wengen – yet in the meantime he accumulated several podium finishes, including at the 2025 F IS Worlds in Saalbach where he was 2nd in slalom behind Loic Meillard!
“I have been looking for that win here on this famous slope, I was twice on the podium in recent years in both specialties, so this victory means a lot to me,” he explained afterwards. “I was very nervous before the second run but the atmosphere is great here. I felt ready to take all risks to win today,” the Scandinavian with 18 podiums finishes including four wins also said. “I had some good results since the season-start so I felt confident enough to move at my limits today. Ski racing is an exciting sport and I am fully enjoying it. I am looking forward for the next January Classics and of course for the Olympics in February.”
The next World Cup stage at Alta Badia is scheduled for Sunday/Monday December 20th/21st 2026 – according to plans presented by the FIS Officials and confirmed by the local Organizing Committee, a night slalom should take place on the lower part of the famous “Gran Risa” slope which will be illuminated by new limelight. A new era will begin for the popular event.