Victory in Courchevel

The drought is over! Kriechmayr wins the downhill

Vincent Kriechmayr gave the ÖSV something to cheer about.(Bild: AP/Giovanni Auletta)

Vincent Kriechmayr has given Austria’s ski team its first downhill victory in 1,094 days. The Upper Austrian triumphed on Friday in Courchevel ahead of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni. Marco Odermatt finished third. With his podium finish, the Swiss skier secured the small crystal globe.

Vincent Kriechmayr has broken the Austrians’ downhill curse and won a downhill race for the first time in nearly three years. The 34-year-old Upper Austrian prevailed on Friday in Courchevel in the penultimate downhill race of the season and celebrated his 20th World Cup victory, his tenth in the downhill. As expected, Marco Odermatt also secured the small crystal globe even before the season finale. 

The result:

Olympic champion Franjo von Allmen was eliminated and squandered his slim chance of catching up to his compatriot in the downhill World Cup standings. Odermatt already knew before his run that, after winning the large World Cup crystal globe, he had also secured the small one in downhill for the third consecutive time. Raphael Haaser (+0.74) finished fifth for his best downhill result to date, just ahead of Daniel Hemetsberger (+0.95), meaning the Austrians were stronger as a team than they have been in a long time.

Vincent Kriechmayr(Bild: AP/Pier Marco Tacca)

“The hundredths were on my side”
“I had a really good run. The hundredths were on my side; a lot of things came together,” Kriechmayr explained in an ORF interview. He said he tried to take a very direct line in the middle section. “That worked out quite well.” Especially at the spot where Von Allmen and other racers struggled, he took a tighter line.

The victory doesn’t change his decision—which he hasn’t made yet—about whether he’ll add another season. “Not at all. Before the season, I was sure I’d hang up my boots after this year, but right now I’m really enjoying it.” He doesn’t expect much from the Super-G World Cup anymore; Kriechmayr trails Odermatt by 158 points with three races remaining. “I’ve thrown away too many Super-G races this year. He was better and has a big lead. The chance is very slim. I congratulate him on the downhill crystal globe.”

First victory since March 15, 2023
Kriechmayr secured the ÖSV’s last downhill victory to date on March 15, 2023, in Soldeu. For 23 races, the Red-White-Red team had gone without a win in this discipline. The Upper Austrian has once again proven how important he is to the ÖSV team. Kriechmayr had already celebrated a victory on the “L’Eclipse” course during the 2022 World Cup finals; a year later, at the 2023 World Championships on the same slope, he finished only eleventh as the defending champion.

  Austria’s downhill team has thus also broken the dominance of the Swiss, who had won every downhill race of the season except for Kitzbühel. Kriechmayr’s victory was also only the ÖSV’s second podium finish of the season following his second-place finish in Wengen.

Haaser and Hemetsberger happy
Haaser’s fifth-place finish was by far his best downhill result (previously a 14th-place finish). “I’ve been working toward this for several years. It’s a step I’ve always wanted to take in downhill, a big one in the right direction.” He said he needs to keep working consistently and demonstrate this consistently.

Raphael Haaser achieved his best downhill result of the season.(Bild: AP/Pier Marco Tacca)

  Hemetsberger, who finished sixth, was also satisfied with his “pretty good run.” Only the entry into the steep section didn’t go so well for him. “I gave it my all; it didn’t feel too bad.”

Odermatt also in contention for the crystal globe in Super-G
Odermatt was very pleased with another podium finish in very difficult conditions, as the 28-year-old said. “It was very changeable—the snow was cold, aggressive, and truly wintry at the top, but extremely warm and spring-like at the bottom,” said the Swiss skier. It was an extremely long downhill run. “I haven’t often been this tired at the end of the season.”

Marco Odermatt(Bild: AP/Pier Marco Tacca)

Odermatt could also secure the small crystal globe this weekend in the Super-G, with two more races scheduled in Courchevel. However, the weather forecasts are very poor.