Men’s Giant Slalom preview: Odermatt & Pinheiro Braathen prepare to resume battle as challengers gather

It may only be the first race of a new season but it already feels like there is so much riding on the men’s Audi FIS World Cup Giant Slalom in Sölden on Sunday.

Will newly crowned Olympic and World Cup champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA/Atomic) continue his golden form and kickstart a tilt at this season’s Overall title? Might the equally in-form Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) finally conquer the infamous Rettenbach Glacier and lay down a marker of his own? Which of the quartet of impressive Norwegians will emerge strongest? Can a Marco Schwarz (AUT/Atomic) free of Slalom considerations become Austria’s first winner of the home opener in 12 years? Is everyone mad to even countenance anything but another GS masterclass from Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli)?

All these questions, and more, will be answered when the action gets underway with the first run at 10:00 CET.

All set for epic rivalry

For four seasons, 2022-2025, no one could get near Odermatt on GS skis. The Swiss megastar not only claimed a quartet of Crystal Globes, he did it in truly dominant style. The zenith came in 2023/24 when only a second run DNF in the World Cup Finals in Saalbach prevented Odi from completing an extraordinary season sweep.

Two wins in the first three races last season suggested more of the same. But no one had told Pinheiro Braathen. From late December through to the final race in Lillehammer, the Brazilian went on a tear. A run of finishes that read 2^nd-2^nd-2^nd-1^st-1^st propelled him up the GS standings and, thanks to that final-day victory when everything was on the line, past a bemused Odermatt.

A first ever World Cup Globe for Brazil was accompanied by a first ever Olympic gold medal, with Pinheiro Braathen once again relegating the great Odermatt to second place.

The challenge has well and truly been laid down. The sense of an epic rivalry only increased recently when Pinheiro Braathen made it clear he will add the Super G to his schedule in an attempt to also snatch Odi’s Overall crown.

There is nowhere better than Sölden to kick it all off. While Odermatt is a master of the Rettenbach’s particular challenges and will chase a fourth win to tie Ted Ligety (USA) as the resort’s most successful male skier, Pinheiro Braathen has tasted success here too, winning in 2020.

 Kristoffersen ready to roll back the years

Not that the rest of a high quality field have any intention of letting the duo take over.

GS world champion in 2019, GS Globe winner in 2020 and second in the standings in three of the past five seasons, Kristoffersen has all the attributes to muscle into the reckoning once more.

“Until you beat (Ingemar) Stenmark on World Cup wins, I think there is always a goal to be had,” the 32-year-old said with a smile. “Of course, not every day is easy, but in the end the motivation is still there.”

Part of a Norwegian clean sweep in Sölden two seasons ago and with another podium place in 2022, it would seem Kristoffersen knows how to get the most out of the early season stop. Even if the man himself is not entirely convinced.

“The long step pitch is something special, and I’m not the best at stivoting, and I haven’t really cracked the code properly yet on how to do it turn after turn in Sölden. But we still keep on trying as best as we can,” he said, before adding, “Of course, there are hills which fit my style of skiing better.”

There certainly are. Now happily on Head skis, Kristoffersen has won four World Cup GS races in Kranjska Gora and two in Alta Badia. Both are once more on the roster.

New dad Meillard hungry for success

Meillard is another with his eyes quietly on all sorts of prizes. The Swiss man has been electric over the past 18 months. Reigning Olympic and world Slalom champion, Meillard came mighty close to snatching last season’s GS World Cup Globe at the death.

Add on the power of the nappy factor, and the 29-year-old is clearly one to watch.

Meillard has finished in the top three in the GS Globe race in each of the past three seasons. A stat he almost matched in the Overall standings, with only a fourth-place finish last season dropping him off that podium.

While Odermatt’s superb form in both the Downhill and Super G, alongside the GS, give him a clear advantage in the hunt for the Big Globe, his compatriot does have a chance to challenge him there too.

“Tough to follow all three disciplines, be home, train, rest correctly, so, the focus at the beginning will be on Slalom and GS and then we will see as the season goes,” Meillard revealed in Sölden. “Definitely keeping it (the Super G) in my training (schedule) it definitely helps with GS to have that speed, and to be a bit more patient.”

Top names ready to compete

In somewhat of a contrast, it will be fascinating to see how Schwarz goes in Sölden, now that he has reduced his packed schedule from four disciplines to three. The 2021 Alpine combined world champion has dropped the Slalom, after three wins and 14 podium places in 105 World Cup starts.

Sölden is not a bad place for his new adventure to start. Last year Schwarz became the first home hope to end on the podium in four years, and with a win following in Alta Badia, the Austrian clearly has the skills and confidence to challenge again.

Fellow local, Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT/Fischer) is also in fine form. In fact, the 35-year-old has never been better. A win and six further top-five finishes propelled him to fourth in the GS standings last time out, his best ever finish in 11 seasons on tour.

At the other end of the age scale, Alexander Steen Olsen’s (NOR/Rossignol) return to the starting line-up is a very welcome sight. The last time the 25-year-old competed in Sölden he won. A knee injury then kept the youngster out for the entirety of last season but he is now fit and firing once more.

The battle for supremacy within the Attacking Vikings will be almost as fascinating as their efforts to top the rest of the field. Atle Lie McGrath (NOR/Head) finished off a wild season last time out with a brilliant Slalom Globe. The 26-year-old is yet to win a GS World Cup race, but he does have five podiums to his name, two of them coming in Sölden in the past two seasons.

Timon Haugan (NOR/Van Deer) cannot yet match that GS consistency but he did finish last season with four top-five finishes in his final six races.

Big names doing great things everywhere you look. Do not miss the start of the GS season, 10:00 CET Sunday.