Swiss racer Marco Odermatt takes World Cup giant slalom for his 2nd win at Beaver Creek in 4 days

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — Marco Odermatt of Switzerland cruised to a World Cup giant slalom win Sunday for his second victory on the Birds of Prey course in a four-day span.

After winning Thursday’s downhill, Odermatt found more speed through the tricky GS setup and finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 20.59 seconds. He held off Alex Vinatzer of Italy by 0.23 seconds. Norwegian skier Henrik Kristoffersen finished third.

Odermatt got back on track in the GS after falling in the first run at Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Nov. 28. It ended a streak of eight straight World Cup podium finishes in the GS.

The snow at Beaver Creek always seems to bring out the best in Odermatt. He’s finished in the top three on nine occasions, including five wins, at this hill. His first World Cup victory was in a super-G at Beaver Creek on Dec. 6, 2019.

For all the success he’s had at the venue, though, Odermatt has struggled in the giant slalom at Birds of Prey. His best finish was 27th in the discipline at Beaver Creek — until Sunday.

That may be why he let out a scream after he saw his winning time.

“It’s very special,” said Odermatt, who now has 28 World Cup wins in GS. “The giant slalom today was somehow missing on my portfolio. Yeah, I’m super happy.”

So, which win means more this weekend — the downhill or the GS?

“Those are always tough questions,” Odermatt said. “I think I still have to go with the downhill because downhill is just something different.”

It was Vinatzer’s fourth career World Cup podium and first in the GS.

American racer River Radamus was 18th after the first run but moved up to sixth place with a strong final performance. His teammates, Ryder Sarchett (25th) and George Steffey (27th), also finished in the top 30.

The men’s circuit moves to Val d’Isere, France, next weekend for a giant slalom and slalom.

___

AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics