Olympic giant slalom champion Odermatt dominates World Cup opener
Canada's Trevor Philp 15th, Erik Read 17th on steep glacier in Austrian Alps
Olympic giant slalom champion Marco Odermatt lived up to his billing as the favourite for the overall World Cup title, dominating the season-opening race Sunday and beating the field by more than seven-tenths of a second for his 12th career win.
The Swiss skier had a near-flawless first run and overcame a few mistakes in his second on the steep glacier in the Austrian Alps to finish .76 seconds ahead of Zan Kranjec of Slovenia.
Henrik Kristoffersen finished .97 behind in third, ahead of Norwegian teammate Lucas Braathen, who dropped from second after the opening run to fourth.
"I was not sure [the first-run lead] was enough, this was really a big fight. The snow got worse and worse. Everybody made some mistakes," said Odermatt, who also won the race last year for the first of his five GS victories on the road to his first overall title.
"You have to be mentally prepared. You have to face the challenge."
Trevor Philp was the top Canadian finisher in Sölden, 1.8 seconds back of Odermatt for 15th place. Calgary's Erik Read was 17th.
WATCH | Full coverage of men's giant slalom from Austria:
Overall winner last season
With both Odermatt and Kristoffersen sponsored by Red Bull, the result marked a successful race for the energy drink brand, a day after its co-founder and owner Dietrich Mateschitz died at age 78.
"I hope I have given him something to take along," Odermatt said.
Odermatt won the sport's biggest prize with a massive 467-point lead over Norwegian speed specialist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde last season.
While he is widely expected to successfully defend his title, Odermatt tried to downplay his dominance.
"I see a lot of competitors for the overall title. But all extra points I can earn now may help me at the end," he said.
The race was watched by 14,000 spectators in sunny conditions under blue skies, a day after the women's race was cancelled due to rain and wet snow.
The men's World Cup continues with a parallel race in Lech-Zurs on Nov. 13, after FIS on Saturday cancelled the two Zermatt-Cervinia downhills scheduled for next week due to a lack of snow.
