Switzerland’s uniquely talented Marco Odermatt snatched his 50th World Cup victory on Thursday, December 18, at the Downhill in Gröden/Val Gardena, Italy, delivering a formidable run on the iconic Saslong in some of the trickiest conditions the circuit has seen this season. Racing through fog delays, snowfall, and a shortened course, Odermatt once again proved why he remains the benchmark in men’s skiing. Odermatt now leads the overall season standings with a total of five victories this season (two Downhill, one Super-G and two Giant Slaloms).
The Swiss star finished just 0.15 seconds ahead of teammate Franjo von Allmen, completing a Swiss one-two, while Italy’s Dominik Paris thrilled the home crowd with a powerful third-place finish. It was a chaotic day on the mountain, with multiple interruptions as fog rolled across the course and snowfall made visibility and timing increasingly unpredictable for later starters.
Despite the disruptions, Odermatt was unfazed. “Everything was different to the training,” he said afterward. “The training was pretty cold and aggressive, now it’s wet and different conditions. But my plan stayed the same… I could adapt very good and I’m super happy with the victory today.” The win marked his 50th career World Cup victory, tying hin with Italian ski legend Alberto Tomba. “It’s amazing to be on the same number as Alberto now, and doing it here in Italy makes it even more special,” Odermatt added.
Von Allmen looked poised to claim his first World Cup Downhill victory after skiing a smooth, aggressive run, but ultimately came up just short. “It was difficult today with the delays, but I felt pretty comfortable at the start,” he said. “The rest was pretty OK, so I’m comfortable with my skiing today.” Paris, meanwhile, was electric on the upper section but lost speed after being pushed slightly out of position mid-course. “My sensation was not so nice, but it was a good run,” he said. “I had a little mistake, but I am happy.”
The race unfolded dramatically from the very first bib. Mattia Casse opened with a time of 1:25.15 that held through several early starters, including Bryce Bennett and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Von Allmen stormed into the lead in bib 6, half a second ahead of Casse, and looked unbeatable until Paris in bib 13 came close to unseating him, but fell short by just 0.04 seconds. Then came Odermatt in bib 14. Despite a scruffy landing mid-course, he recovered brilliantly, stayed in the tuck, and carried speed all the way to the bottom to seal the win.
- Related: Bryce Bennett from Team USA Wins the Men’s Downhill FIS World Cup at Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy
One of the standout performances of the day came from France’s Nils Alphand, who rocketed into fifth place from bib 47, just 0.27 seconds off the win. Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni also impressed, charging into eighth from bib 50.
For the Italian team, it was a strong showing on home snow, with six Italians finishing inside the top 15. For Team USA, however, it was a frustrating day by recent Val Gardena standards. Historically one of the Americans’ best Downhill venues—Steven Nyman won here three times, while Bryce Bennett has two victories—the Saslong did not deliver a podium or even a top-10 finish for the U.S. this time around.
The bright spot was Kyle Negomir, who produced the strongest Downhill result of his career, finishing 11th from bib 52, just 0.91 seconds behind Odermatt. “It feels really good,” Negomir said. “I’ve had a lot of slow results and I think a lot of skiing was under what I felt like my potential was.” Starting close to 4 p.m. local time after hours of delays, Negomir stayed patient and composed. “You just try to keep your heart rate low until it’s time to go,” he said, adding that the team is “looking for two big days for the U.S. team.”
Behind him, the margins told the story of just how brutally competitive the men’s field has become. All of the top 19 skiers finished within one second of Odermatt, and even 52nd-place Sam Morse was less than two seconds back. Jared Goldberg finished 35th, Ryan Cochran-Siegle 37th, Bryce Bennett 39th, Wiley Maple 51st, and Erik Arvidsson 57th. On a day like this, a tiny mistake meant the difference between contending and disappearing down the results sheet.
The race was not without incident. Norwegian ski racer Frederik Möller crashed hard on one of the jumps and had to be taken off the course in a bucket. While his crash looked very dramatic and he was taken away in a helicopter, initial investigations by the Norwegian team doctor show no signs of a serious head injury and can move his arms and legs. Unfortunately, Möller lost two teeth but as the head coach of the Norwegians, Michael Rottensteiner, explained to Austrian media: “The situation is more positive than we feared.”
His teammate Kilde also gave spectators and coaches a scare as he lost his balance on the same jump but managed to push his weight forward and landing it. He summed up today’s race as a training run, simply stating: “I was not there 100% today. I see this as a good training for the season.”
With one Downhill already in the books, Odermatt now leads the Downhill and Overall World Cup standings and remains unbeaten in speed events this season. The Val Gardena triple header continues with a Super-G on Friday, December 19, followed by the classic, full-length Downhill on Saturday, December 20—longer, faster, and with even more at stake.
