Next weekend sees the start of the new season of the Ski World Cup in Sölden. The men's giant slalom will take place on Sunday. Marco Odermatt was a guest on sportpanorama last Sunday and spoke with Jann Billeter about the forthcoming World Cup winter and special preparations.
The Swiss ski team has recently been preparing for the new World Cup season on the slopes of Diavolezza in St. Moritz. Marco Odermatt was full of praise for the way the preparations were organized by the Swiss Ski Association. Thanks to the trainers, the piste on the glacier following the new snow was superbly watered, he said, so the team could enjoy optimum training conditions in Engadin and could work on the finishing touches before the new season starts.
Covid-19 was also a challenge for the young man from Buochs in Nidwalden. Fortunately, he was able to quickly set up a training room at home in Buochs. In the summer, Kurt Kothbauer, fitness coach with the GS group of the Swiss Ski Association, spent around six weeks with Marco in Nidwalden to work with him on his athletic training. At the same time, the downhill skier is delighted that he was already able to do some training soon after the opening of the new elite sports centre OYM in Cham. OYM offers top athletes a highly professional and world-leading infrastructure for athletic training and rehabilitation. In the summer, skiers from the Swiss ski team were also able to benefit from the glaciers and training opportunities in Zermatt and Saas-Fee. In view of the special Covid-19 situation, the team’s preparations also involved fewer days of training on snow than in the previous year, since there have been no overseas trips this year. Nonetheless, Marco Odermatt still feels ideally prepared for the new season, which Helmut Krug, his group trainer in the Giant Slalom and Super-G, confirmed: “Marco Odermatt is an exceptionally good skier. He’s mentally strong. I think his form is very good.” And the meniscus injury in the knee that he suffered last year in Alta Badia has also healed up well, even though the healing process took longer than expected. According to Helmut Krug, it is now mainly a question of getting this injury out of his head. Krug believes the key to this lies in his fitness: “You have to work on your fitness so that you’re even more athletic. Then you feel stronger and have to get back on the piste.” Marco Odermatt believes he is on the right track in this respect. “The system is working”. And the spirit in the Swiss team also seems to be excellent, if Marco Odermatt is anything to go by. “We get on well on and off the piste. We’re always pushing each other, whether in fitness training or playing cards. Everyone always wants to win and be the best. This creates a great super group dynamic.” It has been known for some years, he says, that there is a great team is growing up. Everyone repeatedly had outstanding runs in preparation. These performances in training now need to be reproduced in the World Cup. The present situation had not had too much of an impact on training in the summer, he adds. The emphasis was different at times and there were a few adjustments. They had already started training again relatively early already in the spring, because vacations were cancelled.
A great picture: JO racing group of SC Hergiswil. With Andrea Ellenberger, Reto Schmidiger and Marco Odermatt three members made it into the World Cup.
The Swiss team goes into the new season as last year’s Nations Cup winners. For Marco Odermatt, the triumph in the Nations Cup was not only down to the performance of the athletes but also to the outstanding work at all levels of the association. This success now has to be reproduced in the new season. On a visit to Marco Odermatt’s home territory in Buochs, sportpanorama spoke to his primary school teacher Heidi Infanger and his first youth organization trainer in the Nidwalden ski association, Rumo Lussi, and found that he already stood out in his youth with his coolness, concentration and curiosity.
