Alexander Schmid finished in the top ten with a furious second run at the second giant slalom this season in Copper Mountain (USA). The 31-year-old from Oberstdorf improved from 24th to tenth place. The Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner celebrated his first World Cup victory ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway and the Croatian Filip Zubcic.
Two more Germans placed in the top 20: Fabian Gratz from TSV Altenau came in 13th and celebrated his best result in the World Cup. Anton Grammel from Friedrichshafen started the second round from eighth place, but was unable to continue the run and ultimately finished 19th.
The Swiss Marco Odermatt, who has dominated for years, was on the way to his third win of the season after the first giant slalom in Sölden and his success in the Super-G, but the overall World Cup winner was eliminated in the first round with a clear lead. Jonas Stockinger from SC Herzogsreut and Hannes Amman (Mindelheim) also failed in the first round. Munich’s Linus Straßer was disqualified in the first run.