FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2024/25: Marco Odermatt powers to dominant win in Val Gardena downhill

Marco Odermatt delivered a masterclass performance on Saturday (21 December) in the second downhill race of the 2024/25 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, securing his first career win in Val Gardena.

The reigning World Cup and World champion in the discipline erupted in joy after crossing the finish line in 2:03.10, knowing no one could top his leading time, which was nearly half a second faster than his Swiss teammate Franjo Von Allmen.

Odermatt, who stood on the lower step of the podium in Friday’s Super-G, was the 14th skier to tackle the challenging Saslong course. After a solid start, he maintained his speed through the tricky Ciaslat section near the bottom, and that made the difference with the other competitors.

Von Allmen finished second, just a hundredth of a second ahead of Olympic medallist Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who edged out France’s Nils Allegre by the same margin for third.

Late bib numbers Martin Cater of Slovenia (42), Stefan Eichberger of Austria (56), and Romed Baumann of Germany (31) narrowly missed the podium, finishing fifth (+0.50), sixth (+0.52), and seventh (+0.53), respectively.

This win, Odermatt’s second of the season after the Beaver Creek Super-G, moves him to the top of both the downhill and overall standings.

“It was one of my best downhills,” ‘Odi’ told Eurosport after the race. “I said the same when I crossed the finish line. I came close to maybe Courchevel (at the World Championships) or Wengen last year. Yeah, I think if you want to win the downhill, you need the perfect run. Today, already at the top— which is not really my section— I skied very well. Finally, I also jumped well, and then the Ciaslat was really perfect. So, yeah, I’m very happy with the run.”

The Swiss star will return to action on Sunday in the Alta Badia giant slalom, where he triumphed twice last year.