At 34 years old, Stefan Brennsteiner secured his first victory in his 81st World Cup race spanning 14 seasons on Friday. The Austrian skier capitalized on Marco Odermatt’s early exit during the first run of a giant slalom in Copper Mountain, Colorado, winning by a substantial margin of 0.95 seconds.
Expressing his emotions, Brennsteiner stated, “It means a lot for me. The last years were quite good but I had tough times in my career.” Despite facing breathing difficulties at the high-altitude finish area around 3,000 meters (9,850 feet) in Colorado, Norwegian veteran Henrik Kristoffersen finished second.
Filip Zubcic claimed third place, one second behind the winner, with a rapid second run that propelled him from 13th position. Odermatt, a dominant force with 27 World Cup giant slalom victories in the past five years, failed to finish a race in the discipline for the first time since last December at nearby Beaver Creek.
Odermatt’s unexpected error followed his consecutive wins, including a super-G victory the day before, as he aims for his fifth consecutive World Cup overall title. Prior to his triumph, Brennsteiner had achieved four podium finishes in his career, all in giant slalom, with a solitary second-place finish in March 2022.
In the competition, Erik Read, the sole Canadian participant, finished 27th with a combined time of 2:34.42.