Austria and Vincent Kriechmayr enjoyed their second win of the season in Bormio. In a extremely demanding Stelvio -icy, hard rock and dark slope-, Vincent Kriechmayr beat Canadian James Crawford by 0.40 seconds. Downhill season dominator Aleksander Aamodt Kilde finished in third place +0.68 behind.
The 31-year-old celebrated his first victory in Bormio. In 2020 he finished in second place in Bormio in the Downhill. For Kriechmayr it's his 14th victory in the World Cup (29th podium), the seventh in the Downhill. After winning in Val Gardena-Gröden, Bormio and Wengen (twice) he is only missing a win on the Streif in Kitzbühel from the European Downhill Classics.
“It was definitely my best ride here so far. This is one of the toughest races of the season, and of course you want to win here. For that you have to risk everything from top to bottom. You have to push yourself to the limit, fortunately everything worked really well for me today. If it's that icy, that suits me. But there are some who can win here like Crawford or Kilde. And in order to beat them, you have to have a good run”, said Kriechmayr.
For the 25-year-old Canadian it's his second podium of the season. He finished in third position in Beaver Creek in the Downhill. It's the third World Cup podium for Crawwford. He finished second on the Super-G held in Kvitfjell last March 2022.
“I have been putting down runs all year that I feel are at the highest quality I can muster. I feel like the consistency is coming and with that the results. I am really happy I was able to show what I am capable of on such a tough day. I prefer slopes like this than the easier snow. Here it is a lot about grit and willingness to push yourself. For me, I have never had an issue with stuff like this so when I get on snow like this, it feels a bit more natural”, said Crawford.
“I'm proud to be on the podium in Bormio. I am very happy. I've always had good training sessions here, but didn't manage to accomplish that in the race. The best thing today is that I was able to ski the same from top to bottom as in the past few days”, Crawford added.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde celebrated his 35th podium in the World Cup. The 30-year-old Attacking Viking has won three of the five Downhill races of the season.
It is his first podium finish in the Downhill in Bormio. His best result at the Stelvio are two fourth-place finishes in December 2019.
“I charged and did my game plan. I maybe could have been a bit faster at the very top but the middle part was good. In the bottom I was a little tight on the gate, got squeezed a little bit and lost some momentum. That’s it, it happens. It was rough conditions but what Vincent did today was incredible”, said Kilde.
Overall leader Marco Odermatt missed the podium today. He finished fourth, 1.46 seconds off the lead. Odermatt's race was a solid performance without any big mistakes, but wasn't enough for a demanding Stelvio.
"I had the feeling that it was a good race given the circumstances. Anyone watching can see what's going on here: It's the most difficult race we've ever raced. The track was brutally restless. It's incredibly icy. Compared to Vinc and James I just didn't take the full risk", said Odermatt.
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