Night “giants” in Schladming – Swiss double victory: Meillard triumphs before Caviezel! – Sports


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No Odermatt, no problem: the Swiss come up trumps in the night giant slalom in Schladming.

The great absentee

Marco Odermatt, who won 4 of the first 5 giant slaloms this season, did not compete in Schladming. The man from Nidwalden injured his left knee slightly in the first Kitzbühel descent last weekend and didn’t want to take any risks despite completing training on Wednesday morning.

The pedestal

Nevertheless, Odermatt did not miss the opportunity to watch his teammates at work in the premiere night giant slalom in Schladming. And these made the absence of the 25-year-old promptly forgotten – and how! Loïc Meillard grabbed the win ahead of Gino Caviezel. The Swiss duo was already well ahead at half-time.

In the decision on the pimply hard and icy Planai, both kept a cool head and gave Swiss-Ski the first Double victory in giant slalom since Kranjska Gora 2021. Local hero Marco Schwarz completed the podium – he stood on a “giant” World Cup podium for the first time. After the first run he had been classified in 14th position.

Meillard’s Redemption

For Meillard it is the first “real” World Cup triumph – in February 2020 he celebrated in the parallel giant slalom in Chamonix (FRA). Now, at the age of 26, the knot has finally burst. And that’s hardly surprising, as he’s already been on the podium twice this month (third in the giant slalom in Adelboden, second in the slalom in Wengen).

For Caviezel, 2nd place is the best World Cup result of his career. Before that he was third on the podium twice: in October 2020 in Sölden (giant slalom), in March 2022 in Courchevel/Méribel (Super-G).

The other Swiss

Thomas Tumler presented himself significantly improved in the decision. Still in 25th place in the first run, he jumped up 10 places in the second round. With the result, Tumler is the 4th Swiss Ski athlete to meet the internal selection criteria for the World Championships. Livio Simonet and Semyel Bissig were also happy about World Cup points.

Zingerle with a lot of risk

The Italian Hannes Zingerle was aggressive in the second run. At the last goal before the finish line, he lost his balance and thundered into the advertising sheet. His brand not only counted, it also remained the measure of all things for a long time. In the end, the 27-year-old made up 12 positions.

Here’s how to proceed

In the giant slalom, the athletes can prove themselves again at the World Championships in Courchevel/Méribel. The next World Cup race in this discipline is on February 25th in Palisades Tahoe (USA).

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