Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Giant Slalom - Saalbach, Austria - March 16, 2024 Switzerland's Marco Odermatt poses with the crystal globe and celebrates after winning the giant slalom world cup REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
SAALBACH, Austria (Reuters) - Switzerland's Marco Odermatt missed out on the chance to become the first skier in 45 years to win every race in the giant slalom after failing to finish at the Austrian resort of Saalbach on Saturday.
Odermatt, who won the first nine of the 10 giant slaloms this season, needed to come first once more to match Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark's 10-out-of-10 wins in the discipline in the 1978–79 season.
But the 26-year-old, who has already clinched the crystal globe as well as the overall title, lost control and veered off course on his second run, having led Saturday's race after the first run.
His compatriot Loic Mellard claimed the victory, while Andorra's Joan Verdu and Switzerland's Thomas Tumler finished second and third respectively.
Odermatt will now switch his focus to the downhill and super-G globes, as he looks to become the first male skier to win four globes in a single season since Austrian Hermann Maier in 2001.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
