Odermatt beat Austrian world champion Vincent Kriechmayr by 64 hundredths and another Swiss, Loïc Meillard, by 1 second 22.

With a fifth victory this season, the 16th of his young career, Marco Odermatt (25) is starting to get used to honors.

But this super-G from Bormio, extreme, should remain etched in his memory.

"I had a perfect run, it was so hard, with complicated turns. You had to be tactical," he confirmed.

Tightrope walker as usual, the Nidwalden's impression of speed was further amplified by the ultra-icy surface of the track.

He was able to carve crazy curves like no other, ignoring the permanent danger, to slap the competition.

Only a Vincent Kriechmayr in great shape, reigning world champion and winner of the descent on Wednesday, resisted less than a second.

Only seven skiers have lost less than two seconds on Odermatt, a rare chasm on the world circuit where champions chase hundredths of a second.

The Swiss, winner of the big crystal globe in the spring, takes off in the general classification with 329 points ahead of the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, only 8th Thursday.

"Aggressive"

The pre-race was animated by the surprise announcement of the retirement of Austrian Olympic champion Matthias Mayer (32), just after the reconnaissance of the course.

Austrian skier Matthias Mayer, three-time Olympic champion, announced his retirement shortly before the departure of the super-G from Bormio (Italy) on December 29, 2022. © JOE KLAMAR / AFP/Archives

Several top names on the circuit struggled on the "Stelvio": the king of places Dominik Paris (seven victories in the resort) even gave up the fight in the middle of the track.

"A hell", breathed the Frenchman Nils Allègre, 12th, in the arrival area.

The Blues were able to rejoice in the good performance of Alexis Pinturault, 5th after having already been on the podium in the discipline at Beaver Creek in early December.

"It's a good super-G in difficult conditions. I do a solid run but I make a mistake of greed on a line which costs me time at the end. You had to be in the fight, aggressive, otherwise you get + eat + by the track and it is all the more difficult”, he explained.

Apart from Pinturault, the French team concluded a difficult week with the disqualifications of Johan Clarey and Blaise Giezendanner in addition to the fall of Cyprien Sarrazin, without gravity.

French skier Alexis Pinturault during the super-G in Bormio (Italy) where he finished 5th, December 29, 2022 © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

After he fell, a dog invited himself onto the track: elusive, he caused an interruption of several minutes.

© 2022 AFP