Marco Odermatt wins, Lara Gut-Behrami launches the season with a podium finish: the Swiss trump cards underline their strength in the World Cup overture. These and other insights from Sölden.
27.10.2025, 19:30
SDA
Odermatt remains hungry
A few days ago, he had the feeling that he could only lose, said Marco Odermatt after the first giant slalom of the winter. The result: his third triumph in Sölden, his 46th World Cup victory. "Still here!" shouted Odermatt after crossing the finish line - and expressed his joy at having lost none of his hunger for success.
The logical conclusion in the knowledge that "Odi" still has the desire and his training focus is increasingly on the speed disciplines: The overall World Cup winner of the last four seasons will not be outdone this winter either.
Gut-Behrami remains focused
How well will Lara Gut-Behrami manage to stay focused on her farewell tour until she retires at the end of the season? The first "Last time" shows that the 34-year-old from Ticino is (still) a long way from feeling nostalgic. Third place and, above all, the way she rode, promise a golden farewell tour.
With the Olympic Games in northern Italy, her adopted home, and the prospect of winning her third overall World Cup at the end, the winter still has many highlights in store for Gut-Behrami. The knowledge that she only has to put up with the exertions until spring has given her a relaxed attitude so far - a relaxed attitude that can inspire her.
Marco Schwarz and the Austria men
The Austrian Marco Schwarz has not stood on a World Cup podium for almost two years. This was not due to the undisputed qualities of the 30-year-old all-rounder from Carinthia. In December 2023, while leading the overall World Cup in Bormio, Schwarz tore the cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee and suffered cartilage damage. Even after returning to racing after a one-year break, patience was required. In the first race of the Olympic winter, Marco Odermatt's potential opponent in the overall World Cup has now made an impressive return to the circle of contenders for victory.
With Marco Schwarz back to his old strength, the Austria men's team will once again be more successful than in the previous season, when Lukas Feurstein secured his team's only World Cup victory of the season in the super-G in Sun Valley. But Schwarz was not the only one to show his strength on Sunday: Stefan Brennsteiner (4th) was twelve hundredths off the podium, while World Champion Raphael Haaser finished sixth.
Austria's new hope
For nine and a half years, no Austrian woman has won a World Cup giant slalom, but on Saturday Julia Scheib broke the spell. If the descriptions from the training sessions are to be believed, Scheib should be competing for victories more regularly this winter.
The fact that this is only the case at the age of 27 is probably primarily due to injuries: Scheib suffered her first cruciate ligament and meniscus tear as a 16-year-old. In 2019, Pfeiffer's glandular fever put her out of action for some time, followed a year later by a coronavirus infection. The next and most serious setback to date followed in 2021 with another total knee injury. After a second cruciate ligament rupture, it took almost two years to make a comeback.
Watch out for the Americans!
Paula Moltzan second, Mikaela Shiffrin fourth, Nina O'Brien sixth, plus Katie Hensien (12th) and AJ Hurt (13th) in the top 15 and a total of six athletes in the second run: the US women kicked off the Olympic season with an exclamation mark. The last time the US team was represented with so many racers in a second giant slalom run was in Park City in 1992. Three racers in the top 6 promise a lot for the rest of the season, Shiffrin as the sole entertainer - that was once upon a time.
At the start of the season, the Americans benefited at least in part from a deal with the Austria team. They were able to train together with the Austrians in Sölden in the run-up to the event. In return for the agreement, the Austrians will train with the USA in Copper Mountain in November and have exclusive access to the slopes.
Shiffrin's "giant" progress
After her complicated last season - Mikaela Shiffrin injured herself in a crash in Killington at the end of November and initially only raced for victories in the slalom after her return - the record World Cup winner is also back on the attack in the giant slalom. Fourth place with bib number 20 is probably just the beginning.
Shiffrin will also have to be aggressive in the giant slalom if she wants to win the overall World Cup for the sixth time: Lara Gut-Behrami knocked her off the podium on Saturday and with the giant slalom, super-G and downhill, she has one more discipline in her portfolio, at least for now, to add to her points account. As Shiffrin announced before Sölden, she will not compete in the super-G for the first time until December in St. Moritz and will then decide on her further plans. The 30-year-old will refrain from competing in the downhill races for the time being.
Eliasch's anger about the Olympic race
The World Cup opener in Sölden has whetted the appetite for more, but there is only one thing that bothers FIS President Johan Eliasch: the fact that the women's downhill and the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding will take place almost simultaneously at the Olympic Games on February 8th. Ester Ledecka has qualified in both disciplines, but competing in both races is unthinkable because the ski stars race in Cortina and the snowboarders in Livigno - around four hours' drive in between.
The Czech, who won Olympic gold on both skis and board in 2018, has tried in vain to change the schedule. "I cried a few times about it, but we did what we could," said Ledecka a few days ago. For Eliasch, it is "a great shame", as he is quoted by "Blick". The FIS boss, who has a pilot's license, is even said to have offered to fly the Czech to Livigno after the run from Cortina. Ledecka declined with thanks and has now opted for the snowboard competition.
