Schwarz takes men's giant slalom, favoured Odermatt 6th on classic Italian course

Yes, a Marco won the World Cup giant slalom Sunday. Just not the one expected at Alta Badia, Italy.

Marco Schwarz was first on the classic Gran Risa course where Marco Odermatt, the dominant skier of his generation, had won five of the past six giant slaloms.

Wearing start bib No. 1, Schwarz got a wire-to-wire win by protecting his first-run lead to finish in two minutes 35.02 seconds, 18-100ths ahead of Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil.

"This victory means a lot to me," said Schwarz, who missed almost a full year of racing through injury since his previous win in a slalom in December 2023.

"It's good for the soul, good for the whole team," he said, after hugging third-placed Austria teammate Stefan Brennsteiner (2:35.24) in the finish area.

Austrian Schwarz gets 1st World Cup giant slalom victory since 2023

Pinheiro Braathen had been the only other racer to win an Alta Badia giant slalom since Odermatt's winning run started in December 2021. Pinheiro Braathen was racing for Norway in 2022 and later switched to his mother's home nation Brazil, getting its first World Cup win last month in a slalom.

Maybe fatigue caught up with Odermatt after a tough three-day program of speed races at nearby Val Gardena, where since Thursday he won a downhill and was runner-up in a downhill and a super-G.

Odermatt placed sixth Sunday in 2:35.84 and showed a rare flash of anger crossing the finish line. Odermatt still has a huge lead in the season-long overall standings chasing a sixth straight title with more than double the points of second-placed Schwarz.

It was the seventh career World Cup win and second in giant slalom for the 30-year-old Schwarz, one of the most all-purpose skiers on the men's circuit. His previous GS win