Czech Triumph: Zabystran's Historic Alpine Ski Victory

Jan Zabystran made history as the first male skier from the Czech Republic to win an Alpine skiing World Cup race. With advantageous light and wind conditions, he clocked a time of 1:24.86, surpassing favorite Marco Odermatt. Giovanni Franzoni secured third place in the super-G event in Val Gardena.

Jan Zabystran achieved a remarkable feat in Val Gardena's super-G, making history as the first male skier from the Czech Republic to win an Alpine skiing World Cup race. Zabystran, starting with bib number 29, utilized improved lighting and a tailwind on the Saslong course to his advantage, finishing with a time of one minute and 24.86 seconds. This placed him 0.22 seconds ahead of race favorite Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, who leads the overall World Cup rankings.

Czech-born skier Jan Hudec, who had previously secured two World Cup victories while competing for Canada, celebrated Zabystran's accolade. Zabystran expressed his disbelief at the achievement, previously dreaming only of participating in a World Cup race. His newfound status as a race leader is a career milestone, with his best prior finish being eighth in Kvitfjell, Norway, last season.

Odermatt, now with 685 points, extended his lead over Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen by 383 points in the overall standings and claimed the top spot in the super-G rankings from Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr. As the World Cup circuit moves to Alta Badia for upcoming slalom events, Odermatt aims to enhance his record of 50 World Cup wins.

(With inputs from agencies.)