Marco Odermatt closed the 2023 World Cup Finals by breaking one of alpine skiing's most durable barriers. His victory in the giant slalom in Soldeu, Andorra, lifted his season total to 2,042 points, erasing Hermann Maier's mark of 2,000 that had stood for 23 years.
A record decided on a deteriorating track
Odermatt entered the race needing only a third-place finish to pass Maier. He built an immediate cushion, charging through the first run 1.09 seconds ahead of Alexis Pinturault. As the afternoon light faded and headwinds stiffened, the soft snow grew riddled with ruts and bumps.
The worsening surface scattered the challengers. Pinturault, second after the opening leg, struggled on the bottom section and tumbled to eighth. Henrik Kristoffersen, sitting eighth after his first run, found speed on the steeper lower half and vaulted into second place.
None of it threatened Odermatt. His second run was clean and untouched by the chaos behind him. He crossed the line a seismic 2.11 seconds clear of Kristoffersen and 2.29 ahead of Marco Schwarz in third.
Thirteen wins and a second crown
The margin secured a seventh giant slalom win of the campaign and his thirteenth World Cup victory overall. That figure ties the men's single-season record shared by Maier, Ingemar Stenmark, and Marcel Hirscher. Two days earlier, Odermatt had won the super-G in Soldeu after a disappointing 15th in the downhill.
"I was so tired. We partied hard on Thursday," he told reporters after the giant slalom. "Today wasn't easy. I was nervous again because of those damned 2,000 points." He added a quiet "Sorry, Hermann" in an interview with Austrian television.
The record arrived in the same season he became a double world champion in Courchevel-Meribel. It solidified a winter in which every start list felt like a fight for second place.
