Haaser upstages Odermatt and Swiss for world giant slalom gold
Austria's Raphael Haaser upstaged defending champion Marco Odermatt and the Swiss men's team to claim world giant slalom gold on home snow in Saalbach on Friday.
Haaser, who won silver in last week's super-G behind Odermatt, timed 2min 39.71sec down the Schneekristall piste in overcast conditions.
The Swiss pair of Thomas Tumler and Loic Meillard rounded out the podium, at 0.23 and 0.51sec respectively, with Odermatt fourth a further 0.07sec adrift.
"I'm very happy with the day's race," said Haaser. "I really do not know where this came from.
"I thought top 10, but being top of podium, well I did not expect that. Business as usual for Austria!"
Norway's Timon Haugan, quickest down the first run, had headed into the second and decisive leg of the GS with a vital 0.24sec advantage over defending champ Odermatt, the odds-on favourite.
But it was not to be for either of them.
"The first run I was pretty accurate, the second I really tried to push," said Odermatt, whose super-G victory was the first of three straight golds for the Swiss men's team (downhill, team combined).
"I think even with a perfect run it would have been very tight for me to win. Fourth place is never nice."
It was an astonishing victory for Haaser, who had never made a GS podium before and whose place in the team had come at the last minute at the expense of Manuel Feller.
"He's had a tough season with an injury, and then a very strong comeback with two second places and then finally victory in the world giant slalom, which is amazing," Austrian ski federation CEO Christian Scherer said.
"We always had trust and confidence in him because he's a very talented skier. It's also great that we closed the gap in the medal tally and it's not over yet."
Germany's Anton Grammel made the early running, laying down a barn-storming run after finishing 22nd fastest in the first leg.
The lead then passed in quick succession from Slovenia's Zan Kranjec and Norway's Atle Lie McGrath to France's Thibaud Favrot and Norway's 2019 GS champion Henrik Kristoffersen.
The partisan, flag-waving, airhorn-blowing, 15,000-strong crowd packed in around the finish area erupted when home favourite Marco Schwarz came down to take the provisional lead.
But that was short-lived as 35-year-old Tumler, who notched up his maiden World Cup victory just this season, clocked 2:39.94.
- 'No can do' -
That left the top six to come.
Italy's Luca De Aliprandini made a mistake to fade away from a podium placing before the crowd went wild for Haaser, who had impressed in the super-G a day after his sister Ricarda suffered a season-ending knee injury in the women's race.
The Austrian regained his footing after an early mistake to shoot into the lead and pile the pressure on the four remaining racers.
There was drama as Norway's Alexander Steen Olsen, second in the World Cup GS standings behind Odermatt, threatened but went into the red and finally skied out.
Odermatt looked in impressive gliding form, but his skis ran away from him, a late turn losing him valuable seconds as he came down behind Haaser and Tumler.
Next up was Meillard, boasting a 0.60sec advantage. The 28-year-old consolidated that lead on the first two intermediaries, but then lost time, albeit edging in ahead of Odermatt.
All eyes turned to the start hut and the figure of Haugan.
And the pressure told, the Norwegian making a massive mistake three gates in that saw his -0.62sec deficit instantly change to +0.11sec surplus.
But he battled back, only to lose costly tenths of seconds in the final descent to finally finish seventh, a full second off Haaser.
"I was very nervous as I've never been in this position before, leading at halfway," said Haugan.
"I still think of it as such a cool experience and will learn from this for the future."
Norway-born Lucas Pinheiro Braathen's hopes of securing a first-ever world medal for Brazil, after a fall-out with the Norwegian federation saw him switch allegiance to his mother's homeland, finished 14th, 1.44sec off Haaser's winning time.
"It was a tough day," said Pinheiro Braathen. "I just was not on the level, I never felt comfortable on my skis.
"It has been 'no can do' at these world champs."
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