Marco Odermatt on rest, Sölden and the victory in Kitzbühel

interview

Marco Odermatt has accomplished a great deal not only as a skier, but also outside of skiing. The ability to recover quickly helps him. However, he did not rule out the possibility of adjusting the game schedule.

David Bernold, Copper Mountain/keystone-sda

Marco Odermatt is calm and collected in Copper Mountain, Colorado, ahead of his next World Cup race at Beaver Creek, about an hour away. In the interview, he discussed his many commitments, joining sportswear company X-Bionic and the possibility of one day racing exclusively in downhill and super-G.

Are you a numbers person?
Marco Odermatt: Yes, yes.

And then I'm going to list three numbers now that will definitely tell you something. Thirteen, thirty-seven, forty.
(think)

Can you do something with it?
I had thirty-seven wins in the World Cup. There will be forty gold medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games. And won thirteen consecutive giant slalom victories. Is it still twelve o'clock?

Thirteen represents the number of wins in the last two Winter World Cups of each season.
In the giant slalom I…

…twelve consecutive wins. Forty also marked Pirmin Zurbriggen's World Cup victory, which made him the Swiss record holder. Can you tell me how many days off you took after last season? I think you have almost more going on during this time than in the winter.
What does “free” mean?

A day without obligations.
It hasn't been many days yet. This spring, it was a little less busy than before because I didn’t have a “real” vacation, or we went to Spain to see Alejo (Hervas, New Fitness Coach, editor) and started spending time with him earlier than I thought Work. Since then, physical training has been part of the plan.

Isn’t recovery neglected?
No, I don't feel that way. I actually recovered very, very quickly. Of course, it has a lot to do with dating. But I can handle it just fine.

What you do next to it shows the areas you move. Roger Federer is one of your friends now.
This has been a blessing and a curse for me. It opens doors, but it also takes work. That's why I chose this path. I got used to this pressure early on. I didn’t become an Olympic champion out of nowhere and then suddenly a lot of things happened. I also had this experience when I was a junior in college. Sure, it doesn't feel like less, but it doesn't feel like much, much more either – which is why it works for me.

Speaking of Roger Federer: The connection with him is not only the joint advertising shots, but also the sport of tennis. You still have time to attend Inter club matches in the spring.
Ah ha, yes, as a substitute in our team because the date is confirmed.

If we go back to numbers. Some are not suitable for the public. For example, the amount of your investment in the company X-Bionic, or the length of your new contract with Red Bull. When you joined X-Bionic, you were obviously already thinking about time after your career.
Somehow it's obvious that you can tell this is for the future. That sounds good. On the other hand, it's the opportunity that comes with being successful in sports, so you have money on hand that you don't need today or tomorrow. You can also sense the interest of your partner and you can bring a lot to them. Athletes have long benefited first from their goodwill. What happens now is that the sponsors benefit a lot from me as well. Investing is once again something new and exciting.

I also have the phone number for the sports area. Forty-two. You probably won't understand what I mean.
(laugh). Forty-two…

These were the days from the first giant slalom of the season to the giant slalom at Beaver Creek. You see what I mean. Is this period after leaving Sölden too long for you or is it not important to you? Not long after that you said the whole thing was over.
If this is all over, I'll see you at Beaver Creek. This may exist to some extent. I know points are missing or must be found now. This is a new situation for me. But I also think it's a challenge for me because I wore the leader's red starting number from start to finish at the World Cup.

In Sölden, Marco Odermatt unexpectedly dropped out.Image: trapezoid

In short, the three-race weekend at Beaver Creek is a great example of the pressure that competing in three events puts on you. Have you ever had a time when you felt like you'd reached your limit?
These things happen again and again. For example, last December we ran five races in Val Gardena and Alta Badia in five days. But even at the end of January the mood in Adelboden, Wengen, Kitzbühel and all the way to Schladming and Garmisch – it was always the absolute limit. You notice it physically, but especially mentally. It takes energy again and again to get into the rhythm of the game.

Can you imagine skipping a game or two or even giving up a discipline for one day?
I've skipped some games. For example, Schladming's great turn last season was due to injuries. Last winter I would not have gone to Bansko if my previously scheduled race in Chamonix had not been cancelled. I know I'll be running on my gums this winter at the end of January too – and then the World Cup will come around. So I probably wouldn't go to Schladming or Garmisch, or even those two places. Speaking of events, I think the calendar remains the same for the next two seasons. It’s been an exciting three years of World Cups, Olympics and home World Cups. I want to continue competing in three events. What I want to achieve after that or how long I want to drive – I’ll think about it later. And also about whether I can only race in the speed realm.

Let's look a little further. The match in Kitzbühel will be planned in about two months' time. They declared landing on the Streve River to be their first objective. Doesn't this bring certain risks?
No, anyone who looks at my results will conclude that the victory has come anyway. There are a lot of athletes with low stakes. I'm not that kind of person. It stands to reason that with a career like this, you don't settle for fifth place.

Marco Odermatt is also hoping for a downhill victory in Kitzbühel.Image: trapezoid

Anyone thinking of Kitzbühel can't ignore Cyprien Sarrazin after last year. This absolutely requires a perfect ride.
In fact, it doesn't matter who is faster in theory. If you want to win, you have to beat everyone no matter what.

In giant slalom, things are slightly different for you. If you behave normally, you will come out ahead. Competitors, by contrast, must outdo themselves if they want to keep up with you.
It's hard to say. That's been the case lately – at least as far as rankings are concerned. If you look closely, I won half the battle, but by a slim margin. Maybe once or twice I used the luck I missed in Sölden recently. That's why I don't consider myself as dominant as my winning streak would suggest.

Finally, I have a number. One thousand eight hundred and nineteen. Just to help: Counting starts today, Thursday (Conversation Day, editor’s note).
(Thought for a long time.) “One thousand eight hundred and nineteen…”

It’s been many days since your first World Cup victory in the super-G at Beaver River.
Ah, okay. They are very good. How many days has it been?

You recently finished second three times at Beaver Creek, always behind Aleksander Kilde. If you know the residue now, I take my hat off.
Three years ago I won my first super-G race with a clear lead and the second race I was behind. Three percent…

Correct.
Two years ago, I think the difference downhill was six percent…

very good. real. What about in Super G?
Nineteen percent.

almost. Twenty percent. You convinced me. You are a numbers person. (Abu/Sudan Development Authority)

Four days after a boring Super League showdown, Grasshoppers and FC Zurich will meet again in the last 16 of the Cup on Tuesday. Unlike the 1-1 draw, this time there will be a winner.

This time, the second part could hardly be worse than the first: last Saturday's Zurich derby was a spectacle in a rivalry between two clubs that will soon span 288 games. In a long period of weird atmosphere, with one group of fans initially staying out of the stadium and another group abandoning their usual support in protest, the two teams played poorly.