Marco Odermatt’s seals World Cup super-G win in Bormio, Vincent Kriechmayr and Loic Meillard complete podium

Marco Odermatt stole the show with another masterclass to secure his fifth World Cup victory of the season in the men’s super-G at Bormio.

The podium was completed by Wednesday’s downhill winner Vincent Kriechmayr (1:29.91), and Loic Meillard of Switzerland (1:30.49).

It was Odermatt’s second super-G victory of the season to extend his lead at the top of the super-G and overall standings over Aleksander Aamodt Kilde to 68 and 329 points respectively.

The Norwegian did not trouble the runaway overall leader and came eighth with a time of 1:31.42 – 2.15 seconds off the lead.

Records continued to tumble for this hugely impressive 25-year-old, who became the first Swiss man to win a super-G race in Bormio, in what’s looking like a procession towards the overall crystal globe.

Speaking after the victory, he said: “It was nearly a perfect run for me. It was a very difficult race and course setting. I just had a good feeling from the first gate, so I could push and I was somehow always one step ahead.

“It worked and it was a great team performance with Loic on the podium as well. With Stefan (Rogentin) and Gino (Caviezel) in the top 15 too, it was a great race.”

It was a sudden decision took everyone by surprise, as the Austrian revealed the news following the course inspection on Thursday morning.

“I did my last inspection today,” he told Austrian television ORF. “I don’t want it enough any more.

“I had a wonderful last season with a third Olympic title and I started this one well,” he said. “I’m happy. But I’ve had enough.”

Following that bombshell, the focus turned to the action on the slopes and Odermatt looked to be the man to beat again with a majestic run down the course.

The reigning world champion was bib No. 7 and registered a time of 1:29.27 to propel himself to top spot – 2.26 seconds ahead of the early leader Caviezel.

After setting the bar so high, the rest of the field tried and ultimately failed to beat the 25-year-old’s blistering time.

It was a brutal course, as Johan Clarey registered his second DNF at Bormio after seemingly running out of energy heading into the last few gates.

Fellow Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin was one of 11 racers who did not finish after emerging largely unscathed after crashing into the fencing, briefly interrupting the run.

Canada’s James Crawford finished second in Wednesday’s downhill, but is still waiting for his first super-G podium with a time of 1:30.78 securing a sixth-placed finish.

Another stand-out performances came from Riley Seger at bib No. 51, who powered his way into 15th with an impressive time of 1:32.00.

In contrast to the Swiss success, it was a hugely disappointing day for the Italian contingent of skiers on home soil.

Christof Innerhofer was the highest-placing Italian down in 19th, with Mattia Casse and Florian Schieder in 28th and 30th respectively. Meanwhile, Dominik Paris and Matteo Franzoso failed to finish.

– – –