ALPINE. FIS Alpine ski World Cup BANSKO 2024. February 10th, 2024. Marco Odermatt wins his 6th giant slalom of the 2024 season and his 9th in a row, continuing his winning streak in the discipline. Odermatt is the second male skier to have won more than five consecutive World Cup giant slaloms, after Ingemar Stenmark’s run of 14.

“I really like to be here and it is different from any of the other races,” he continued, “The confidence is at its highest level and everything is working well. The skis are perfect and I just have fun skiing,” Odermatt stated.

The first run set had more turn shape, but the second run was set for the men to push. The conditions were good, and the athletes needed to step on the gas to move their way up the leaderboard, and make a mark in Bulgaria.

Alexander Steen Olsen of Norway stepped on the gas and finished the event in 2nd place. He achieved his first podium of the season and first GS podium of his career. His intervals were ahead in the first few sections, looking poised and strong throughout the course. He kept his momentum going through the finish line. He almost went out at the end of the course but held it together and came through 0.17 ahead of Feller.

Manuel Feller of Austria rounded out the podium with a successful two runs. When Feller came down, he was ahead of the field in the first three intervals and was going all out. He bashed gates down the icy pitch confidently, earning him his third podium in GS this season.

Others Who Made a Mark in Bansko

Swiss athlete Thomas Tumler had a strong showing, finishing in 8th place for the day, his first top-10 result of the season. Directly following Tumler’s run, Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway came down to take over the leader’s chair, holding the top spot until Žan Kranjec of Slovenia came down in front of him. Kristoffersen concluded the day in 6th place, and Kranjec in 5th. Kristoffersen has finished ten times in the top 10 this season in both GS and slalom, so 2024 has not been shy of success for the Norwegian.

Stefan Brennsteiner of Austria showed strength in his skiing, especially through the challenging left-footed turns, which pushed Žan Kranjec off the leader’s chair. He completed the day in 4th place, +0.21 off Feller.

A highlight going into the second run was Harry Laidlaw, the first Australian man to make it into a second run of a World Cup GS. The Global Racing athlete was having a stellar run but sadly fell and lost a ski towards the bottom of the track. It has been an exciting year for the Australians, as Madison Hoffman, also from Australia, was the first female since 2002 to make it into the second run of a World Cup.

Retired US Ski Team athlete Ted Ligety was at the event and was the forerunner for the athletes. He relayed words of encouragement up to the Stifel US Ski Team men before they competed.

By Ellie Hartman, Skiracing.com

photography (c) Vladislav Georgiev / SKI.BG / XT fotografia