Steen Olsen defies conditions to master shortened Schladming Giant Slalom track

Alexander Steen Olsen (NOR/Rossignol) won his second Audi FIS Ski World Cup title of the season and third of his career as he adapted best to difficult conditions on a shortened Schladming Giant Slalom course on Tuesday night.

By the time the athletes took to the slope under the lights, heavy salt had been applied to the course in an attempt to combat a day of rain and snow in Austria.

The course was also shortened by 15 gates due to the conditions, but not all the skiers were wary of what lay ahead of them.

Steen Olsen had remarked after his first run that the unpleasant conditions were reminiscent of those in Norway, and it certainly seemed to suit the Norway team as Steen Olsen was joined on the podium by compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR/Van Deer) in second place.

It is the first time in history that any Norwegians had made it onto the Schladming podium in a men's Giant Slalom World Cup.

"It was either I can do it or it will not be my day," Rossignol athlete Steen Olsen said of what was going through his mind ahead of the second run.

"I just accepted that and really focussed on skiing the tracks and not caring about the gates so much, because it's easy to lean into the gates and the tracks are far away and you don't get pressure on the skis."

Steen Olsen, who has endured a torrid season on Slalom skis, had previously finished fourth in the Giant Slalom in Schladming in 2023 and 2024, making it all the sweeter to finally get the long-awaited win in 2025.

"That was so extremely nice after a tough Slalom period, to finally get a super good day,” he said. “Especially here in the rain in Schladming, it's awesome."

The mist and fog which additionally shrouded the top of the course as the night wore on made it difficult for any skier to make up time on the second run if they had found themselves adrift at the halfway stage.

One such athlete was Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli), who 12 months ago put down an incredible second run on this course to jump from 11th place to the top of the podium.

But after finding himself tied 12th in his first run on Tuesday night following a sluggish opening gambit that included several errors, the 27-year-old could not quite repeat the same heroics in his second outing this time out, crossing the line six tenths of a second off the pace to finish third – condemning countryman Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) to fourth by just one hundredth of a second.

“I was probably the luckiest guy of the day. It was such a tight race, unbelievably tight. Big, big luck on my side,” the Stöckli skier said.

"The conditions have been very difficult, obviously. We are not used to skiing in the rain and the slope was tough to ski. You had to change your setup and also your mindset a little bit.

"I didn't do well in the first run, better in the second run but also not perfect."

Kristoffersen was one of the better skiers at the top of the slope, but still couldn't put down a faultless the second run, making errors towards the end of what was a technical course to eventually cross the line 39 hundredths of a second slower than his compatriot. It's the Norwegian's 92^nd World Cup podium, which draws him level with Benjamin Raich for the fifth-most career podiums in men's World Cups.

"First of all, congratulations to Alexander - amazing second run,” Kristoffersen said. “I feel a little sorry for Loic because he skied really well.

"Both Alexander and Loic are invited to my wedding this summer so they are really good friends.

“It would have been cool with all three on the podium, but of course congratulations to Marco who did a really good second run. When you have that many wins it's not luck.

“I’ve known Alexander since he was a little boy and it’s always very cool to share the podium with him.

“Of course I would hope I would win, that’s always the goal for all athletes, but when I’m not winning it’s very OK that it’s Alexander winning.”

For Odermatt, it was the first time he had missed out on a Giant Slalom podium this season in a race in which he had completed both runs, having mixed two DNFs with three victories heading into Schladming.

The 27-year-old came into Tuesday’s race on the back of a victory in the Super G at Kitzbühel as well as a sixth-place finish in the Downhill over the weekend.

"That's the big challenge for an all rounder. If you're on Downhill skis for two weeks and then have one day to switch to GS turns and mindset and everything. It's not easy, so I'll take this podium," he said.

Odermatt still leads the Giant Slalom season standings by a healthy amount, sitting 71 points above Steen Olsen who leapfrogged Kristoffersen into second place with victory on Tuesday night. Kristoffersen is just 10 points behind his friend and team-mate.