The Swiss leave the competition with nothing but crumbs in Val d'Isère. Loïc Meillard triumphs on the Face de Bellevarde with a lead of 18 hundredths over Luca Aerni. The man from Bern is on the podium for the first time in a World Cup giant slalom.
It was the eighth World Cup victory for Meillard, who had not yet got up to speed this season and had only finished ninth in the top 10 once in seven starts before Val d'Isère. The last victory for the slalom world champion came at the end of March at the season finale in Sun Valley (USA) - also in the giant slalom.
Marco Odermatt was unable to take advantage of his first opportunity for an anniversary victory in the giant slalom in Val d'Isère. On the Face de Bellevarde, where he had previously triumphed four times in a row, the man from Nidwalden came third. Despite two less than ideal runs, Odermatt was ultimately just 33 hundredths short of his 50th World Cup victory.
The fact that the Swiss would take all three places on the podium in Hochsavoyen had not been apparent after the first run. However, behind half-time leader Stefan Brennsteiner, Odermatt in fourth and Meillard in fifth were in a lurking position. The gap to the Austrian, who finished fifth, was only around half a second. However, Aerni's deficit of 1.36 seconds in 13th place was significantly greater.
But Luca Aerni and the giant slalom in Val d'Isère - a perfect match for the second time in a row. Last year, the 32-year-old from Bern benefited from special conditions in the second run and advanced from 30th to 4th place. This year, the former combined world champion managed to advance eleven positions thanks to the second-best run time in the afternoon.
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