The 57th Saslong Classic in Val Gardena closed with a big bang for the Swiss Team. Marco Odermatt led a 1-2 Swiss podium ahead of teammate Franjo von Allmen. Odermatt won the Downhill thanks to a superb performance in the Ciaslat sector. It's the first victory for Switzerland in Val Gardena since Silvan Zurbriggen's victory in 2010. The defending Downhill and Overall World Cup champion won for the first time on the Saslong racecourse. It was his 40th career World Cup Win.
"Today I had another perfect race, I felt really good. It was great skiing, I managed the Ciaslat perfectly. I had to wait until the last skier had finished before celebrating. Being in the lead gives you a bit of peace of mind, but in Val Gardena you know you should never celebrate too soon," said Odermatt.
Franjo Von Allmen finished in second place 0.45 seconds behind the winner. Hlied on a brutally good run. In the upper part of the course, he was even ahead of his teammate Odermatt. With his second place in Val Gardena today, von Allmen celebrates his first World Cup podium in the Downhill. Last season, the 23-year-old talent achieved his first World Cup podium in the Super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
"The last few minutes with the hundredths thriller were a thrill. I still have to improve a bit on the Ciaslat, I didn't ski perfectly. But the rest was fine. I had fun skiing. It was definitely a very nice day," said Von Allmen.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished in third place 046 seconds behind Odematt completing a perfect speed weekend for the US Team after yesterday's Goldberg podium. It's Cochran-Siegle third podium in the World Cup, the first one in almost four years, and the second one in Val Gardena after finishing in second place in the Downhill in 2020.
"It was good skiing, it was fun. Val Gardena is a really challenging hill to ski, in the sense of skiing fast. I’ve had runs here where I thought I’d put down a good one, and it’s seconds out, so you never know until you cross the finish line. I was just focusing on trying to carry speed as much as possible," the US skier said.
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