The Swiss downhill skiers celebrate a triple victory in Are for the second time this season. It is the continuation of an impressive winter.
08.03.2025, 19:00
SDA
On Friday, Dominik Paris was the party crasher. The Italian won the substitute downhill for Garmisch ahead of four Swiss skiers. On Saturday, the empire struck back. And how: A triple victory for Swiss-Ski, already the second this season.
And as in Crans-Montana, Franjo von Allmen prevailed in the team duel against Marco Odermatt, relegating the world champion to second place in the discipline rankings. Had he finished behind his compatriot, the battle for the small crystal globe would have been decided before the final race in Sun Valley, Idaho. So it remains to be seen whether Odermatt will be the best downhill skier of the winter for the second time in a row or whether upstart Von Allmen will take the crown for the first time.
Odermatt almost at the finish line
"Nothing is lost yet," joked Von Allmen in an interview with SRF, referring to the starting position and in the knowledge that he will almost certainly lose out. Even though the 23-year-old from the Bernese Oberland has made up ground, Odermatt's lead of 83 points is still more than considerable. One thing is certain: Von Allmen must win overseas in order to catch his team-mate. But even if Von Allmen wins, a 14th place will be enough for Odermatt to win the globe. The last time the man from Nidwalden finished lower was two years ago at the season finale in Soldeu.
"Of course I would have liked to have been faster than Franjo today, which would have meant the globe would have been in the bag," said Odermatt. "But I would have immediately signed up for this starting position before the weekend." After all, the 27-year-old has not coped at all with the Olympiabakken piste and the conditions in Kvitfjell in the past, and his best result in the downhill until Friday was 7th place.
Odermatt already has more than one hand on the big crystal globe. Last season's dominator will secure the overall World Cup for the fourth time in a row - even if this is not yet mathematically certain. His lead of 520 points is too big for Henrik Kristoffersen to catch up. There are still seven races to go. However, the Norwegian technician will only compete in two giant slaloms and two slaloms and will therefore only be able to score a maximum of 400 points - even if he could theoretically start in the speed races.
Rogentin doubles up
Stefan Rogentin's 3rd place almost got lost in all the arithmetic. The 30-year-old from Graubünden wrote his own story in Kvitfjell. He arrived with 8th place as the best result in his downhill career to date and left Norway with two top 3 finishes. As on Friday, Rogentin also took advantage of the early start number on Saturday and doubled up with his second podium finish in 24 hours. "More would have been possible," he summed up.
It is precisely this form of ambition that has made the Swiss the dominant nation in the downhill this season. Six victories in eight World Cup races and 17 out of a possible 24 podium places show the impressive dominance of Swiss-Ski in the supreme discipline.
