Today was the first day of the four-day race weekend at Copper Mountain, Colorado, and what an exciting as well as emotional day it turned out to be. It saw Marco Odermatt stage his defense of his 2024-25 Super-G Crystal Globe with a precision-crafted victory on Thursday, November 27, mastering a course that proved unforgiving for many of the early starters as warm temperatures and soft snow created a slower track. The Swiss star, who is aiming to become only the third man in history to win four consecutive Super-G Globes, won ahead of Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr and Raphael Haaser. However, it also saw some very important comebacks to ski racing, most notably that of Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
The softer, warmer conditions in the top section were immediately apparent when Ryan Cochran-Siegle from Team USA opened race day. The son of Olympic slalom champion Barbara Cochran was pinned off-line near the bottom and nearly spun out before recovering, losing crucial time to finish in 1:08.53. That run ultimately held up for 10th place, though his early mistakes foreshadowed the difficulty many were about to face.
Austria’s Stefan Babinsky, wearing bib 5, was the first to wrest the lead away from Cochran-Siegle despite several visible mistakes. The previous three skiers had failed to unseat the American. Second starter, Austria’s Stefan Eichberger, ended his race with a DNF after struggling on the same section as Cochran-Siegle, while France’s Nils Allegre also fell behind, finishing in overall 26th place. Meanwhile Canada’s Cameron Alexander in bib 4 ran a cautious race as he was making his long-awaited return from injury after tearing his ACL at the World Championships in Saalbach. In fact, it was a bit of a comeback day today at Copper, as Italy’s Guglielmo Bosca, in bib 6, also staged his return after a fractured lower leg last season and was the top Italian of the day, finishing in a strong eighth place. Normally dominant in speed, Italy struggled on Copper’s course: former World Cup winners Dominik Paris and Mattia Casse finished 11th and 26th, respectively, with Casse also returning from injury after crashing in Kvitfjell.
Then came Kriechmayr in bib 7 who snatched the lead from his teammate Babinsky. With eight Super-G podiums last season and ranked third in the 2024–25 standings, the Austrian looked poised for victory as he delivered a composed, largely error-free run.
His time held firm until Odermatt—skiing with trademark aggression from the outset—attacked the flatter midsection and clawed back tenths he had briefly lost near the bottom. His winning margin of 0.08 seconds was secured only in the final two turns.
Austria’s depth, however, showed again when Raphael Haaser, starting in bib 13, slotted between teammates Kriechmayr and Babinsky to finish third. In total, Austria placed four athletes in the top six, with Florian Feuerstein adding a sixth-place finish. Switzerland, usually able to counter Austria’s depth, saw a more modest showing behind Odermatt: Stefan Rogentin placed seventh and Franjo von Allmen ninth, while Alexis Monney tied for 20th.
But today, was in a way a big day for the Norwegian team. Frederik Møller—last season’s winner in Bormio—finishing a strong fifth, 0.41 seconds behind Odermatt, but Norway’s biggest moment belonged to Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who returned to racing nearly 700 days after his devastating 2024 crash in Wengen. With fiancée Mikaela Shiffrin watching from the finish area, supported by her mother, who hugged her from behind, the 33-year-old delivered a cautious but confident run, finishing just 1.25 seconds behind Odermatt. While it was overall 24th place—outside the top 10 result he had aimed for—it marked the most important comeback from a difficult 22 months for Kilde. “It was nerve-wracking,” he admitted post-race. “It was amazing being out and actually having a good feeling on my skis… This was a dream come true.” Shiffrin called his start “the greatest victory,” reflecting the emotional weight of his two-year battle back to the start gate.
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Another highlight for Norway—or perhaps Brazil—was dual citizen Lucas Braathen. In only his second career Super-G start and with limited training, the Brazilian-Norwegian finished 64th, far from his seventh place in Beaver Creek two seasons ago. But his childhood friend Atle Lie McGrath, also racing his second-ever Super-G, placed a remarkable 12th. McGrath shares another commonality with Braathen: he is also a dual citizen as he was born in Vermont to former U.S. racer Felix McGrath and Norwegian cross-country athlete Selma Lie.
Beyond Cochran-Siegle’s top-10, Team USA placed two additional athletes in the points: River Radamus finished 22nd and Kyle Negomir 24th. Tanner Perkins celebrated his first World Cup start, finishing 51st. Sam Morse (52nd), Wiley Maple (60th), Bryce Bennett (61st), and Jared Goldberg (65th) rounded out the American starters at Copper today.
However, the day belonged to Odermatt, who claimed his 47th career victory today. Reflecting on the win and the weight of defending the Super-G (and Overall Globe), said: “When you’ve won the Globe you want to win the Globe again. In the end you have to take it race by race… everyone wants to win.”
It was a fantastic first day today at Copper Mountain, where races will continue tomorrow with a men’s Giant Slalom.
