The long-awaited clash for the downhill globe will ultimately not take place. While Cyprien Sarrazin hoped to be able to catch up with Marco Odermatt, at the end of the final event of the World Cup season this Sunday in Saalbach (Austria), the race was ultimately canceled due to weather conditions. The trophy therefore officially goes to the Swiss, more consistent throughout the winter.
Info Saalbach: 😔 Unfortunatly due to the present weather situation with wind and snowfall affecting the track conditions, to insure the safety of the athletes, todays Men’s DH had been cancelled. #fisalpine
— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) March 24, 2024
Supposed to start at 11:30 a.m., the event was initially postponed by an hour due to heavy snowfall. The situation ultimately did not improve, notably with the appearance of strong wind gusts. After a second postponement, the International Ski Federation therefore made the decision to simply cancel the event, “to ensure the safety of the athletes”.
An absence that will leave regrets
Sarrazin’s season certainly deserved better than this shaky end. The Frenchman had the best season of his career, claiming four World Cup victories, including two in Kitzbühel. But this little globe missed by nothing will probably leave regrets: while he was still close behind Marco Odermatt, the Frenchman had to stay stationary for five weeks and miss the penultimate descent of the season due to a fall during training. Returning in good shape, as shown by his fourth place in Friday’s super-G, he was still too short.
For Odermatt, well above the rest this winter, the raid continues. Certain for a while of winning the big globe, with almost double the points of his runner-up Loïc Meillard, he adds this new little globe to that of the giant and that of the super-G. At only 26 years old, he is more advanced than ever in his discipline.
