SKIING: Von Allmen heads to Olympics with a win, Odermatt fourth

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – Switzerland’s Franjo Von Allmen claimed his second downhill victory of the season on home snow in Crans-Montana on Sunday, winning the last Alpine Skiing World Cup race before the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The reigning world champion and last year’s winner on the Piste Nationale started 15th on a sunny morning and finished 0.65 seconds ahead of Italy’s early leader Dominik Paris.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle of the United States took third place, 0.70 seconds off the winning pace, marking his first podium finish since December.

“I really like the slope. Pretty easy to ski but not easy to be fast,” said Von Allmen. “This win gives me a lot of confidence, and I’ll try to show my best skiing at the Olympic venue in Bormio. It’s really important for my mindset to go there with a good feeling.”

Paris, who carries high national expectations for the Olympics, said his start could have been better but he performed well through the middle section and over the bumps.

“Franjo is hard to beat because he’s really fast on this terrain, but I beat Odi (Marco Odermatt) today, and that’s a good feeling too,” he said.

Overall World Cup leader and Swiss medal hopeful Odermatt finished fourth, marking his first time off the downhill podium since January 2025, ending a streak of nine consecutive podium finishes.

“I’m very happy with my skiing. It’s good to rebuild this energy and tension after Kitzbuehel, where things didn’t go as planned,” said Odermatt, who was second in Austria’s previous downhill but disappointed not to win. “I’ll go home for two nights to rest and then head to Bormio on Tuesday, so there’s not much time to do a lot.”

Downhill to Open Olympic Alpine Program

The men’s downhill in Bormio will be the first medal event of the Olympic Alpine competition next Saturday, one day after the opening ceremony. Training begins Wednesday.

Von Allmen is second in the downhill standings, 115 points behind Odermatt after six of nine races. Odermatt has won three downhills this season, while Italian rising star Giovanni Franzoni, only 23rd on Sunday, triumphed in Kitzbuehel.

Sunday’s results highlighted the Swiss-Italian rivalry, with Switzerland placing five skiers in the top 10 and Italy four, with Cochran-Siegle breaking the European dominance.

“I was just trying to ski with joy and fun,” said Cochran-Siegle. “It’s an amazing slope and a real challenge—you have to give a good run to enjoy it. Bormio will be really exciting… I’ll take what I did well here and embrace the challenges next week.”

The race was briefly interrupted near the end when Chilean skier Henrik Von Appen crashed heavily and required medical attention. He was stretchered off and airlifted by helicopter, with no immediate update on his condition.

The event also paid tribute to victims of a recent bar fire in the Swiss resort that claimed 40 lives. The words “Our thoughts are with you” were displayed in white on a black background across the start hut and finish area, replacing the usual sponsor branding.

-Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Cortina d’Ampezzo; Editing by Alexander Smith and Christian Radnedge/Reuters