The Swiss speed cracks keep up well in the first training session for Saturday's Olympic downhill. Four Swiss-Ski racers finished in the top 10, with American Ryan Cochran-Siegle setting the fastest time.
None of the 43 athletes at the start showed their cards for the race. Marco Odermatt also rode in a controlled manner and slowed down well before the finish. As the best Swiss, he finished in 3rd place, four tenths behind Cochran-Siegle, directly ahead of Alexis Monney. Franjo von Allmen lost around a second on the best time and finished seventh.
Odermatt, who leads the World Cup discipline rankings, world champion Von Allmen and Monney, who won the downhill on the Stelvio piste last year, are seeded for Saturday's race. The last place will be decided between Stefan Rogentin and Niels Hintermann in Thursday's training. Rogentin was eighth in the first training session, around eight tenths faster than the man from the Zurich Oberland.
Hintermann angry about qualifying approach
In an interview with SRF after his first appearance on the Stelvio, Hintermann criticized the approach taken by Swiss-Ski officials. "I was very happy when I arrived, but last night my mood was spoiled by my three bosses because of their approach to qualifying," said Hintermann, referring to the decision to award the third starting place to Monney before the training sessions: "In recent years, it was always like this: anyone who didn't make the podium had to qualify. And now they're suddenly doing something different. That's incomprehensible to me."
Monney has finished in the top 10 four times in the six downhill races this winter, his best result was 5th place in Wengen. Hintermann's frustration is understandable when you look at the results. This season, he has only collected six points fewer than Monney in the downhill races. And this, of course, in his first winter after recovering from cancer. In the discipline rankings, the two are in 11th and 12th place.
Monney's record on the Stelvio
However, there is another factor in Monney's case: his outstanding performances on the Olympic course last winter. Back then, the man from Fribourg won the downhill on the Stelvio and also finished third on the podium in the super-G the following day. He also impressed at last year's World Championships in Saalbach with 3rd place in the downhill and 2nd place in the team combination.
With this track record and being only 26 years old, Monney has strong arguments in his favor. If he had slipped up in the decisive training session, the coaching team might have been in trouble. They obviously wanted to avoid this scenario.
"It was clear to me that it would be difficult without a podium. I never asked for a fixed place and was prepared to contest the qualification," says Monney himself. He does not know what exactly was discussed, but of course he is happy with the decision. "It takes some pressure off me and I don't have to perform straight away."
Möller's fall overshadows training
Stefan Rogentin is also affected. Unlike his team-mate Hintermann, however, the man from Graubünden is cautious: "I've learned in the past to accept decisions as they are made."
Training came to an unpleasant end for Fredrik Möller. The Norwegian crashed, injured his shoulder and had to be transported away by helicopter. The 25-year-old had already crashed heavily in Val Gardena/Gröden. A year ago, Möller celebrated his first and so far only World Cup victory in the super-G in Bormio.
The live ticker
-
Liveticker
-
Liveticker closed
-
Fredrik Moeller injured after a fall
The Norwegian, who started with bib number 32, crashes. Although he is able to get up again under his own power, his shoulder is obviously damaged. That doesn't look good. He has to be brought down by sledge and then transported away by helicopter.
-
Franzoni comes second
The Italian shooting star sets an example and crosses the finish line 0.16 seconds behind.
![The current top 10.]()
The current top 10. Picture: FIS -
Paris fourth
The Italian is also doing well in the upper part of the course, but loses time at the bottom - intermediate 4th place, 0.94 seconds behind.
-
Von Allmen only partially convincing
The man from the Bernese Oberland makes a strong start at the top, but loses time at the bottom. In the end, this results in 5th place.
-
Cochran-Siegle new leader
The American takes the lead. However, the time should be taken with a pinch of salt, as he pulls through more in the final section than the others.
-
Monney misses the gate
Monney is 0.26 seconds behind in second place, but the 26-year-old has missed a gate. But the impression of last year's Bormio winner was still strong.
-
Allegre in 5th place
The Frenchman can't get close to Odi and is 1.06 seconds behind in fifth place.
-
Odermatt takes the lead
The man from Nidwalden gains a large lead. Odermatt shows on all parts of the course that he is a force to be reckoned with on Saturday. In the end, he has & tenths of a second in reserve on Kriechmayr.
-
Hintermann does not go full throttle
The man from Zurich is not yet giving his all. In the end this results in a gap of 1.06 seconds.
-
Schieder in 4th place
The Italian crosses the finish line 0.78 seconds behind.
-
Kriechmayr with new best time
The Austrian also struggled with the rough surface, but the veteran set the fastest times in all the lower sections and replaced Rogentin as leader (24 hundredths ahead). Like many racers, Kriechmayr also slowed down early.
-
Cameron misses gate
The Canadian misses a gate, but continues anyway. At the finish it is unofficially intermediate 4th place (+1.11 seconds).
-
Rogentin takes the lead
Rogentin is the first of four Swiss skiers to start. And after a solid run, the man from Graubünden takes the lead with a lead of 28 hundredths.
-
Crawford also not convincing
The Canadian struggles with the bumpy slope and finishes 1.34 seconds behind.
-
Sejersted loses a lot of time
The Norwegian loses a lot of time, especially at the top. In the end he is 0.76 seconds behind.
-
Hemetsberger opens the race
In difficult conditions in Bormio, the Austrian skis down first.
-
The start list for the first training run
![]()
Picture: FIS -
This man from Vaud will be competing against Marco Odermatt at the Olympics
Thomas Weir. This name probably means nothing to you - and yet the young ski racer from Vaud is one of the chosen ones who will be competing in the slalom and giant slalom at the Olympic Games. Read the article.
-
Hello ...
... and welcome to the live ticker of the first downhill training session for the men's Olympic downhill. The Austrian Daniel Hemetsberger will open the training from 11.30 am. You can follow it live here.
