Marco Odermatt led the way in Sölden, Loïc Meillard could follow suit in Levi. The world champion from Neuchâtel can be expected to stand up to the World Cup dominator in the Olympic winter.
14.11.2025, 05:00
14.11.2025, 09:34
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- The big favorite for the overall World Cup is Marco Odermatt.
- Loïc Meillard is considered one of Odermatt's biggest rivals in the battle for the big crystal globe.
- Meillard says: "The big globe is possible, but it's not something I'm focusing on. If I ski well, the rest will follow."
He was a three-time junior world champion, is a year older than the former five-time junior world champion Marco Odermatt and, according to experts, even better than his compatriot in technical matters, who has held the overall World Cup firmly in his hands since 2022. But it took Loïc Meillard some time to become a regular winner at the highest level. The 29-year-old all-rounder achieved his first of six victories in the classic disciplines at the start of 2023, more than three years after Odermatt.
Now, after a 2nd place (2023/24) and a 3rd place (2024/25) in the overall World Cup and World Championship gold in the slalom in 2025, Meillard seems ready for the big time. Since the turn of the year, the man from Valais has been in top form. He won three of his last five races in the previous season, before which he took the World Championship title in the slalom (and in the team competition) in Saalbach. For the second time in a row, he cracked the 1000-point mark in the overall World Cup. Good prerequisites to go one better in 2025/26 and aim for the big crystal globe.
The better skier than Odermatt
The big favorite in the 2025/26 Olympic winter is of course Odermatt. But Meillard, who is a year older and also competes in three disciplines with the exception of perhaps a few super-Gs, has everything he needs to take on the dominator from his own camp. Helmut Krug, for example, the Swiss giant slalom coach, says in the recently published authorized biography of Marco Odermatt ("My World"): "Loïc and Marco are undisputedly the best giant slalom racers. Loïc is also coming now, but he could have won earlier - because he simply skis even better." Odermatt himself says: "If I look at it soberly, I know that Loïc is the better skier."
According to Krug, the difference between Meillard and Odermatt is that the latter is a competitive type par excellence: "Marco was born to win, Loïc first had to learn how to win." Racing and skiing are two different things, says Krug. Meillard shines with accuracy and precision. Odermatt sometimes skis an unorthodox, seemingly sloppy turn, but is one hundred percent efficient.
Number 1 in the slalom
Meillard has now learned how to win. Last winter, he narrowly lost out to Henrik Kristoffersen in the battle for the slalom crystal globe. However, Meillard leads the WCSL ranking, which is relevant for the allocation of numbers and is something like the world ranking list, which also includes the results of the major events, in the slalom, just like Odermatt in the other core disciplines and Camille Rast in the women's slalom. It would therefore come as no surprise if Meillard were to become the first Swiss to triumph in Levi on Sunday.
At the season opener in Sölden - in 2024 he had to declare a forfeit at short notice, before that a 5th and a 7th place were the only top 10 results in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier - Meillard still struggled three weeks ago, almost as is traditional. However, 14th place and, above all, the certainty that his chronically damaged back is causing fewer problems than at the same time a year ago give him confidence.
"I've already said a few times that I'd like to win the overall World Cup one day. The big globe is possible, but it's not something I'm focusing on. If I ski well, the rest will follow," says Meillard. For a quiet worker like him, who doesn't make big noises, that's almost a challenge.
