After his triumphant descent on Sunday, the world No. 1 still had fire in his skis, on the icy slope of the Eclipse.

Second in the first heat behind Marco Schwarz, Odermatt reversed this established order at the start of the afternoon, to push the Austrian back to third place, 40/100.

Another Swiss, Loïc Meillard, managed to interfere between the two to take the silver medal and sign a Swiss double, 32/100 behind his compatriot.

Fort de ses huit victoires et quinze podiums de l'hiver en Coupe du monde, "Odi" était arrivé à Courchevel avec l'étiquette du jeune prince en quête d'une première médaille mondiale, en guise de couronnement.

Conquérant, il avait surpris en gagnant la descente, dominant cette épreuve pour la première fois de sa carrière. Mais il ne comptait pas s'arrêter là.

"Quand on gagne une fois, on veut gagner une deuxième fois... donc ce n'est pas fini", avait-il prévenu dans un sourire plein de malice à l'issue de sa descente dorée.

Le Suisse Loic Meillard après la seconde manche du slomo géant des Mondiaux dont il a pris la 2e place finale le 17 février 2023 à Courchevel © Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

Domination suisse

Olympic gold medalist last year and winner of four of the five giants he has competed in this season, "Odi" further confirms his dominance in this discipline.

In the second moto, Odermatt put the pressure on Schwarz, taking the leader's chair before the Austrian took off.

As often, the 27-year-old skier cracked under the pressure to finally take third place behind "Odi" and Loïc Meillard, author of a fantastic second run.

Odermatt and Meillard owe their performance of the day in part to their coach, who drew the route for the giant's second run.

The most versatile skier in the world, Schwarz failed to offer skiing nation Austria its first gold medal and had to settle for a frustrating place.

One more after the silver in the combined behind Alexis Pinturault, sixth place in the super-G, and fourth in the downhill.

Austrian Marco Schwarz in the finish area of ​​the second round of the giant slalom of the Worlds on February 17, 2023 in Courchevel © Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

In addition to the advent of Odermatt, this race marked the domination of Switzerland, which, with a superb double, increased its lead at the top of the nations' classification with three titles and seven medals in total.

Conversely, the Worlds continue on an encouraging note but with regrets for Austria, which has the same number of medals as Switzerland, but no title.

Pinturault only seventh

Far behind, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault saw his medal hopes dashed during his first run, finishing in eleventh place due to a fault.

Performing second, in the resort of his childhood, the leader of the tricolor made a good comeback, finishing in seventh place.

"It's been a long time since I've finished second in a heat, just one hundredth behind Meillard, one of the best since the start of the season. So there's a lot of positives," he said. he commented.

Bronze medalist in this event in Vail/Beaver Creek (United States) in 2015 then in Are (Sweden) in 2019, the skier from Courchevel was delighted with his World Championships, despite his disappointment of the day.

Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner, 4th in the giant of the Worlds, after the second round on February 17, 2023 in Courchevel © Jeff PACHOUD / AFP

"When I was attacking the Worlds, I had no idea that I would end up with two medals around my neck, including one in gold, so there are a lot of things to take. Sport does not smile all the time, it you have to dare, and that makes my fault easier to live with."

Defending champion, Mathieu Faivre only took 19th place, in line with a very difficult season.

Leo Anguenot finished 24th.

© 2023 AFP