COURCHEVEL, France — Marco Odermatt locked up both the World Cup overall and downhill title Friday after the Swiss star posted the third-fastest time in the penultimate downhill of the season.
It’s the fifth straight overall title for Odermatt, which puts him level with Marc Girardelli in second place on the all-time winners list, behind Marcel Hirscher with eight titles.
Clinching the big crystal globe was a formality for Odermatt, since the only racer who could mathematically overtake him, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, doesn’t compete in downhills. The six remaining races this season are not enough for Pinheiro Braathen to close his deficit of more than 600 points in the overall standings.
Odermatt won the downhill globe for the third straight season, marking his 10th career discipline title. He’s expected to add the super-G globe this weekend and is in a strong position to win the giant slalom title at the World Cup Finals next week.
He also won those four globes in each of the past two seasons.
Odermatt knew before his run Friday that the downhill globe was secured, since his only remaining challenger, teammate and Olympic champion Franjo von Allmen, started earlier but skied out.
Von Allmen needed to finish first or second to keep any hopes alive. Racing in warm and sunny conditions, he came off the race line in a right turn and wasn’t able to adjust when he skied through soft snow outside of the course.
Odermatt then clocked the third time, 0.31 seconds behind race leader Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria, with Giovanni Franzoni of Italy trailing by 0.09 in second.
Lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the course which was used for the 2023 world championships.
