Loïc Meillard won the Val d’Isère giant this Saturday, ahead of his compatriots Luca Aerni and Marco Odermatt.
Handicapped by back pain since the start of winter, Swiss Loïc Meillard regained victory by winning on Saturday at the giant of Val d’Isère, leading a Swiss hat-trick in front of his teammates Luca Aerni and Marco Odermatt.
“A fourth place would have already been a great result for me, and now we have a simply perfect day with the team”reacted the 29-year-old Swiss who signed his 8th World Cup victory in Val d’Isère. World No.2 in 2024 and No.3 in 2025, Loïc Meillard has come a long way. Hampered by back problems, he struggled to exist at the front of the stage since the start of the season, both in slalom and in giant.
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Until then, he had had to be content with just one Top-10 this winter, with a giant 9th place at Beaver Creek. But, for two weeks, the pain has partly eased, allowing him to be able to train fully until returning to victory on Saturday in the Savoyard resort.
“We had to find the rhythm and a little confidence, and we did a great job with the team, it’s thanks to them that I’m here”assured Meillard. Starting from bib 6, he had a solid first run to finish in 5th place. And in the second round, he managed better than the others to avoid the pitfalls of the demanding Face de Bellevarde, passed in the shade with less good visibility.
Too many mistakes for Odermatt
The victory is all the more beautiful for the Valaisan as it is shared with his teammates Luca Aerni (2nd at 18/100th) and Marco Odermatt (3 at 33/100th). “It’s not my first hat-trick.”smiled Meillard, who won the giant of Hafjell (Norway) in March ahead of Odermatt and Thomas Tumler. “But it’s still magical.”
Odermatt, who could achieve his 50th World Cup victory on Saturday and his fifth in a row in Val d’Isère, made too many errors, from the first round and again in the second, to be able to hope for victory. Delighted for his friend Meillard, he hugged him in the finish area before going to celebrate on the podium.
By clinching 3rd place despite everything, Odermatt continues his incredible series of World Cup podiums in his favorite discipline: when he finishes the two rounds, he has not been out of the top-3 in a giant since March 2021 and his 11th place in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). He also retains the lead in the giant’s ranking as well as that of the general ranking, with twice as many points as the Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner.
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The French far away
The day was more complicated for the French, who had hopes of big results at home given their good collective start to the season.
But the Blues ultimately finished far behind. Alexis Pinturault, best Frenchman in the first round (9th), finally finished 22nd, 1 sec 63 behind Meillard. Léo Anguenot finished 19th (+1 sec 35) and Thibaut Favrot 27th (+2 sec 56). “Like many, I had visibility problems. I quickly make a mistake and then I have difficulty getting back into rhythm.”reacted Pinturault. “There is disappointment, it is the first time this season that I am far below what I can do.”
The Val d’Isère stage continues on Sunday morning with a slalom. Loïc Meillard, once again confident, hopes to shine once again.
