The final men’s World Cup downhill before the Olympic Games delivered exactly what makes this sport so special: sunshine, speed, and excitement to the very end. On Sunday, February 1, Team USA’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle claimed his second podium of the season with a third place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
At the top of the standings, Franjo von Allmen from Switzerland proved in a league of his own. The Swiss skier defended his Crans-Montana downhill title in emphatic fashion, stopping the clock at 1:55.00 on the dot, to claim a commanding home victory, 0.65 seconds ahead of Italy’s Dominik Paris, while Cochran-Siegle rounded out the podium in third, 0.05 seconds behind Paris.
After Friday’s challenging downhill day for the women, the sun broke through in Crans-Montana for the men. The race was opened by Justin Murisier, who set the pace for the race course at 1:56.54. He was promptly undercut by Canada’s Cameron Alexander, who beat him by 0.31 seconds, while his teammate James Crawford skied across the finish more than 90 seconds behind the Swiss. Team USA’s Bryce Bennett was next in bib 4 but he fell 0.06 seconds shy of Murisier.
Things quickly started to heat up though, with Alexis Monney taking the lead from Alexander before Florian Schieder snatched the lead with a time of 1:55.95–the first time below 1 minute 56. His lead was not long in the making though, as his teammate Dominik Paris shot across the finish line 0.30 seconds faster. But the double Italian lead was promptly interrupted by Marco Odermatt, who skied in bib 10 in-between Paris and Schieder.
For a few skiers it seemed like the lead time was untouchable, but Cochran-Siegle in bib 14 showed with a smashing run that there was still improvement on Paris’ time possible. He was in the lead for the top section of the course but then gave back the lead on the very last sector of the race course, crossing the finish just 0.05 seconds behind Paris. “I’m just trying to ski with some joy and fun,” Cochran-Siegle said after the race. “It’s so rare that we get days like this—nice sunshine on a sunny slope with fun terrain—so I was really just trying to enjoy that.”
The highlight of the day, however, was still to come with Franjo von Allmen in bib 15. The Swiss skier shot into the lead with an absolutely dominant run, snatching the lead from the top of the course and never giving it back. He crossed the finish line more than half a second ahead of Paris, defending his 2025 victory successfully. “I really like the slope,” the Swiss ski racer said after the race. “It’s pretty easy to ski but not easy to be fast,” he admitted. “I was impressed by myself that I was really that fast. I had a good feeling and just tried to show my skiing,” the 24-year-old added. It marks his fifth World Cup victory and the second of the season after winning on the Saslong in Gröden/Val Gardena, Italy, in December 2025.
Roared on by the Crans-Montana home crowd, von Allmen’s confidence appeared sky-high as he crossed the finish line to thunderous applause. “While skiing, not really,” he said of hearing the crowd, “but when you cross the finish line you can hear it, and it’s an amazing feeling.” Von Allmen ranks second in the downhill standings for the season 115 points behind his teammate Odermatt. The Swiss Team had a smashing day today in Crans, with half of the top 16 skiers hailing from the Confoederatio Helvetica.
For Cochran-Siegle, the podium marks his fifth career World Cup podium and his fourth in downhill. His most recent podium before Sunday came on December 4, 2025, when he finished second at the Birds of Prey downhill in Beaver Creek. With the Olympic Games just days away, the timing could not be better. “I just gotta reset. Every venue is unique and obviously Bormio will be really exciting,” Cochran-Siegle said. “I’ll take today with me and then embrace the challenge that’s coming up this next week.”
Paris, meanwhile, showed that Italy will be a major force on home snow in Milano Cortina. The veteran Italian laid down a smooth, aggressive run early in the race and briefly held the lead before von Allmen’s blistering performance. “I had a really good run,” Paris said. “Franjo was hard to beat today, but I beat Odermatt—and that’s a good feeling.”
Among the Americans, Bryce Bennett was the next best U.S. finisher in 18th, with Wiley Maple scoring World Cup points in 29th. Kyle Negomir (40th), Erik Arvidsson (41st), Jared Goldberg (48th), Sam Morse (50th), and Isaiah Nelson (54th) rounded out the U.S. results.
With Crans-Montana now in the rearview mirror, attention shifts fully to the Olympic slopes. The men will be the first alpine racers to compete in Italy, beginning downhill training on February 4, with the Olympic downhill scheduled for February 7, the morning after the Opening Ceremony.
If Sunday’s race was any indication, the men’s downhill at the Olympics is shaping up to be one of the most wide-open—and fastest—events of the Games.
