Next Saturday, the 95th International Lauberhorn Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill will be held in Wengen, Switzerland.
Since the start of the Alpine Ski World Cup in 1967, the Lauberhorn races have been an integral part of this racing Tour. Jean-Claude Killy won the first Downhill event held in Wengen.
Switzerland with 32 Downhill victories, and Austria with 31 Downhill victories are the most successful nations at the Lauberhorn Downhill.
Wengen (SUI)
January 18th Downhill / Men 12:30 CET
After winning the season's first three races, the Swiss Team is currently setting the pace in the Alpine Ski World Cup in the Downhill. Swiss skiers cop the first four places in the Downhill standings: Marco Odermatt (225 points), Franjo Von Allmen (163), Justin Murisier (142), and Alexis Monney (120).
The speed season kicked off at the Birds of Prey racetrack with a big surprise in store. Justin Murisier secured his first Alpine Ski World Cup victory by winning the World Cup Downhill at Beaver Creek. Starting with bib number 3, Murisier skied a solid run from top to bottom with hardly any mistakes. The 32-year-old Swiss skier previously achieved his only podium finish in the Giant Slalom in Alta Badia in 2020. His best Downhill result was 4th place in Bormio last season. Teammate Marco Odermatt finished in second place, just 0.20 seconds behind.
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 was 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.
The third Downhill of the season ended with the third Swiss double podium. 24-year-old Alexis Monney with start number 19 won the Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill in Bormio. He finished 0.24 hundredths ahead of teammate Franjo von Allmen. Canadian Alexander Cameron rounded up the podium in third place 0.79 seconds behind the Swiss.
Monney showed his potential setting the third-fastest time in the first training session. His previous best World Cup result was 8th place in kitzbühel last season. In Bormio, he celebrates not only his first podium but also his first victory.
Marco Odermatt won the Men’s Downhill Crystal Globe last season. It's Odermatt’s first Downhill Globe. The Swiss ski Ace also won the Super-G title and secured the speed double. The last Swiss skier to win the Downhill Crystal Globe was Beat Feuz, who won four between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.
The reigning world champion in the Men's Downhill added the World Cup title to his Overall, Super-G, and Giant Slalom Globes. The last man to win at least four World Cup Crystal Globes in a single season was Hermann Maier in 1999-2000 and 2001-2001 (Overall, Downhill, Giant Slalom, and Super-G in both seasons).
The only Swiss man to win at least four World Cup classifications in a single season was Pirmin Zurbriggen in 1986-1987. He won the Overall, Combination, Super-G, Downhill, and Giant Slalom titles.
Marco Odermatt finished on the podium in six of the eight Downhill events last season including a double win in Wengen.
Vincent Kriechmayr had nine of his 18 World Cup wins in Downhill. Kriechmayr recorded World Cup Downhill podium finishes in each of the previous seven seasons (2017-2018 to 2023-2024).
Ahead of the speed events in Wengen, Kriechmayer had won nine Super-G and nine Downhill World Cup events. The only Men to have won at least 10 World Cup events in both Super-G and Downhill are Pirmin Zurbriggen (10 SG, 10 DH), Hermann Maier (24 SG, 15 DH) and Aksel Lund Svindal (17 SG, 14 DH).
Kriechmayr finished in fourth place on the Downhill standings last season. He has won all the European Downhill Classics -Val Gardena-Gröden, Bormio, Wengen (twice), and Kitzbühel.
The Austrian Ski Team only achieved three Top-10 places in the first three Downhills of the season.
In the 2023-2024 winter season, the Austrian Ski Team achieved only one podium place (Vincent Kriechmayr second in Kvitfjell), and in the Downhill standings only Kriechmayr (4th) made it into the Top-10 (Stefan Babinsky was 15th). The 33-year-old is the only skier in the team to have ever won a World Cup Downhill. All these facts make the Austria Ski Downhill Team the weakest Downhill team in almost four decades. You have to look back to the 1987-1988 winter season to find similarly dismal performances by the Austrian Downhill skiers.
Last season Dominik Paris won the second Downhill held in Val Gardena-Gröden. It was the 22nd career World Cup victory for the 34-year-old Italian skier. It was the first victory for Paris in Val Gardena Gröden.
Paris finished in third place on the Downhill standings last season. It was the sixth time he finished in third place in the downhill rankings for Paris. His best result was second in the 2018-2019 winter season.
With 18 victories in Downhill, Dominik Paris is the active male skier who won the most Downhill events in the World Cup. Only Franz Klammer (25), Peter Müller (19), and Stephan Eberharter (18) have won as many World Cup Downhill events among Men as Paris.
Bryce Bennett finished in fifth place on the Downhill standings last season. He won the first Downhill race in Val Gardena-Gröden and placed third in the second race. Bennett has achieved his best results in the Dolomites ski resort: two victories, one-third place, and two-fourth place.
With two victories in the Alpine Ski World Cup, Bryce Bennett could tie Bill Johnson (3) and Steven Nyman (3) for third place on the list of USA Men's Downhill World Cup winners. Daron Rahlves (9) and Bode Miller (8) are first and second.
Update 01.14.2025: Otmar Striedinger achieved the fastest time in the first downhill training session on a course that was in excellent condition this year. Italian skier Mattia Casse finished in second place, 0.46 seconds behind Striedinger, while Canadian James Crawford took third place, finishing 1.42 seconds behind the Austrian.
Update 01.15.2025: Ryan Cochran-Siegle set the fastest time in the second and last Downhill training session. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted (0.26) and Mattia Casse were second and third respectively.
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