Men’s Super-G racing delivered one of the biggest surprises of the season on Friday, December 19, as Czech skier Jan Zabystran shook the ski world by claiming his first-ever World Cup victory on the Saslong in Val Gardena, Italy. In warmer, clearer conditions than Thursday’s fog-disrupted Downhill, the 27-year-old produced the run of his life from bib 29 to beat Marco Odermatt, who had been solidly in the lead for nearly all the top-30-ranked skiers. With his victory, “Zaby” secured Czechia’s first-ever men’s Alpine World Cup victory. Second-placed Odermatt remains in the lead for the season’s Super-G standings, while third place went to Italy’s Franzosi.
The race began with Canada’s James Crawford in bib 1 setting an early benchmark after a wild, aggressive run, stopping the clock in 1:26.98. Crawford battled the course but left time on the table, opening the door for those to follow. Bib 2 Ryan Cochran-Siegle responded strongly after a disappointing Downhill the day before. In bright sunshine, he skied with far more control than Crawford, leading by 0.02 seconds at the first check, extending that advantage to 0.22 on the top section and 0.44 by mid-course before crossing the line 0.38 seconds clear and into the lead.
The lead did not last long, as Switzerland’s Justin Murisier in bib 5 attacked the direct, fast set and surged into first, nearly half a second ahead of Cochran-Siegle. Italy’s Dominik Paris, wearing bib 6 and feeding off the home crowd, looked poised to knock the Swiss off the top spot, but—just like yesterday in the Downhill—came up agonizingly short, finishing second, only 0.02 seconds behind Murisier.
Then came Marco Odermatt in bib 8 and the Swiss superstar was already 0.24 seconds ahead at the top split, stretched it to 0.30 shortly after, and by the mid-section had built a massive 0.81-second margin. He extended that advantage even further in the fourth sector, blasting into the lead by a commanding 1.05 seconds, underlining once again his exceptional talent and dominance on the Saslong.
For the longest time, it looked like the race was over and no-one could pip Odermatt. Last year’s Super-G winner Mattia Casse, in bib 9, skied well up top, even edging ahead of Odermatt by 0.06 seconds early, but could not match the Swiss skier’s speed through the middle and lower sections, slotting in 0.58 seconds behind.
Drama followed for yesterday’s runner-up Franjo von Allmen, who crashed heavily. Coming in sideways, he knew the crash was inevitable and despite his best “winding down the window” moves, landed unbalanced on his left ski, slid out, spun around, and somehow—cat-like—managed to regain control and ski down to his coaches, who likely aged a few years watching it unfold. He miraculously emerged unscathed.
Home hopes were lifted again when Giovanni Franzoni delivered a spectacular run from bib 16, skiing boldly into second place and neatly filling the large gap Odermatt had carved out over the field. Slotting in behind Franzoni was France’s Nils Allegre, while Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger also impressed from bib 22, charging into the top slots with a fantastic run.
For Team USA, Kyle Negomir backed up his strong Downhill with another solid performance, finishing 19th from bib 24 to once again be the top American on the Saslong. River Radamus in bib 27 skied in between Negomir and Cochran-Siegle, while Jared Goldberg in bib 28 missed a gate in the lower section, ending his bid for FIS points.
But then, when nearly all of the top 30-ranked skiers had gone, came the moment no one saw coming. Skiing out of the start gate in bib 29, there was something immediately electrifiying about Jan Zabystran. He skated aggressively to the first gate, attacked the top section with purpose, and absorbed the rollers effortlessly. Though he dropped slightly behind through the mid-section, he carried tremendous momentum into the bottom, unseating Odermatt by 0.22 seconds and stunning everyone in the finish area.
Zabystran had never won a World Cup race, nor stood on a podium. His best career result was eighth place last season in Kvitfjell, yet here he was taking victory from the legendary Swiss ski talent Odermatt. In an interview with FIS after the race, even Zabystran admitted that he himself could barely believe it. “Yesterday I was 32nd so I thought today, just go, it can be at least top 30.” Zabystran shrugged and laughed: “Then I saw the green light, it is crazy. It felt like nice easy skiing…I just thought top 20, top 30 is OK for me, but first place, it’s beautiful. It’s something really crazy.”
Odermatt, who had sat in the leader’s chair for most of the race, was gracious in defeat. “We know Val Gardena is different, you have to wait until the last guy,” Odermatt said in his post-race interview with FIS. “Congrats to Jan. But I’m also happy with my performance.”
24-year-old Franzoni, securing his first World Cup podium, was emotional after the race. He kissed his glove after the race and pointed at the ski in a touching tribute to his friend and teammate Matteo Franzoso, who had died in a training crash in La Parva, Chile, in September. “If he would be here I would tell him that he is a fantastic person….always with a smile and I am really proud to be his friend,” he said in the post-race interview, fighting back tears. “He is like my older brother and I will ski for him all my life, so we will do this together.”
But there were other notable performances today that need highlighting. France’s Matthieu Bailet later delivered the best run of his career from bib 43, while Canada’s Brodie Seger in bib 49 skied into 14th place as the best North American.
Tomorrow, December 20, the classic full-length Downhill returns. And after today, we are looking forward to an exciting race day as nothing feels guaranteed.
