Marco Odermatt can still dream of becoming an Olympic champion. The Nidwalden leads the giant after a contested first round in dantesque conditions. Gino Caviezel occupies the provisional 10th place, while Justin Murisier and Loïc Meillard are out. Second round to follow live from 8 a.m. on RTS 2.
In the snow and in terrible visibility conditions, Marco Odermatt did not widen the gaps. He was 0”04 ahead of Stefan Brennsteiner, 0”08 Mathieu Faivre, 0”12 Henrik Kristoffersen and 0”19 Thibaut Favrot.
Winner of 4 of the 5 giants contested this winter, Marco Odermatt could have afforded himself a more comfortable margin without a big fault committed at the top of the course. “It was a brutal fight, from the 1st to the last gate. It was very difficult to ski with this fresh snow”he explained at the microphone of the RTS.
Gino Caviezel is the only other Helvetian to have reached the finish of this first round. The podium remains within reach of Graubünden, 10th at 0”97 from Marco Odermatt, even if he will have to pull out all the stops on the second course.
Disappointment for Murisier and Meillard
Justin Murisier said he made a mistake in his settings. “I noticed from the 2nd door that I had no grip. I did not find the solution“explained the Bagnard, 4th overall in these games. “When you come to the Olympics, it’s to win a medal. I do not have any“, he concluded.
Loïc Meillard, who will still have the slalom to recover in Beijing, suffered from the lack of visibility. “You have to attack, but it’s hard to know what’s going on under your feet in these conditions“, underlined the skier from Hérémence, who made a mistake after touching the snow with a shoe.
ats/tzing
