"The only one who is really in his world is Marco", greeted the holder of the big globe, who flew over the Oberland stage last year, winning the two giants, but this time abandoned 54 / 100th to his young rival.

If the Austrian Manuel Feller, 5th in the first round, delivered a splendid comeback to slip into second place (at 48 / 100th), it is indeed the new duel "Odi-Pintu" which thrilled more than 11,000 jubilant spectators, who have been waiting since 2008 for a Swiss triumph over this mythical giant.

Under pressure as rarely, the 24-year-old Swiss won the most beautiful of his nine successes, and the first in front of his home crowd, without renouncing his principles: "I made attacks, I took risks", despite "a big mistake" in the dizzying final wall, he said.

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, during the first round of the World Cup giant in Adelboden (Switzerland), January 8, 2022 Sebastien Bozon AFP

"Catch up with Marco"

"Today with all the fans, it's very special, the emotions are very high," added the tall blond, who in the process consolidates his first place in the general classification, with 376 points ahead of the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.

For Pinturault, who is coming out of a solid fall in slalom but disappointing in his favorite discipline, it was above all a matter of forgetting the nightmarish stage of Alta Badia, where he was ranked 15th and then 18th of the two giants.

"It's still far from perfect, but I'm happy to be on the podium. Now we have to try to improve," and use the few weeks before the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20) to " catch up with Marco, ”explained the Courchevel skier.

The French Alexis Pinturault, during the first round of the World Cup giant in Adelboden (Switzerland), January 8, 2022 Sebastien Bozon AFP

If the Savoyard were in the very selective conditions that he likes - icy track and all in variations, slope plunging to 60% - he will have to adapt his equipment to the softer snow that he is likely to encounter in China.

"I must also rest, we had a fairly demanding sequence lately," he added, announcing his intention to ignore the super-G added Thursday in Wengen, especially as the station dutch does not offer "a training track".

Vengeful christmas

Fourth in the first round despite "very complicated" sensations, the world champion of the giant Mathieu Faivre finished fifth (at 1 min 89) and "still quite satisfied".

"There is still room to go and put my ski on both heats. I'm going to go back to work, there is still a big cut before the Olympics", continued the skier from Isola 2000.

If Mathieu Faivre and Marco Odermatt have a few days to breathe before Wengen, Alexis Pinturault will continue on Sunday with the Adelboden slalom, after a very good second place in December at Madonna di Campiglio.

He will find Clément Noël there: victorious in Val d'Isère, deprived of another success for Madonna by a cruel fault at the very end of the second round, the Vosges is looking for a tenth World Cup coronation and 'a comeback against the co-leaders of the specialty, the Norwegian Sebastian Foss-Solevaag and the Swedish Kristoffer Jakobsen.

© 2022 AFP