SR Staff Report
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Photo: GEPA pictures.
WENGEN, Switzerland — The dominant men’s downhill racer is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde — clearly.
Kilde won Switzerland’s marquee World Cup race Saturday by a big margin for his fourth win in six downhills this season.
The Wengen Lauberhorn downhill from the top is something special. Today it wasn’t possible due to the wind. However, the downhill from the combined start proved exciting. Today there was a cloud cover that added an additional visibility challenge. As expected, the FIS and the Swiss organizers have prepared the race slope well. However, one person who seems to love the course from the combined start is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. For the second day in a row, Kilde showed he was better than the rest.
When Kilde, bib six, left the start, bib three, Mattia Casse was in the finish with a one-second lead. However, it was apparent from his first turns Kilde was on an entirely different level. He didn’t win every sector, but he was close. He skied with so much power and commitment that it was hard to imagine anyone could be faster. His skis appear only able to arc. There isn’t a turn that he didn’t accelerate. Kilde probably accelerated when he wedged, trying to slow before the Kernen-S. He crossed the finish 1.01 seconds faster than Casse. When the race finished, only second place Marco Odermatt, one bib behind Kilde, found himself inside a second, 0.88 behind. Odermatt is the best overall skier in the men’s field, but today, he was significantly outperformed by Kilde.
“It’s flowing pretty well now, it’s really a lot of fun. I feel so happy skiing,” Kilde told Swiss broadcaster RTS.
That Kilde won with Swiss standout Marco Odermatt second was less of a surprise than the gap between them on a shortened version of the storied Lauberhorn course — 0.88 seconds.
“It’s super with the second place but the time was really too much,” said Odermatt, who shook his head on crossing the finish line. The defending overall World Cup champion now has six career runner-up downhill finishes but has never won.
Racers were launched almost 40 meters (yards) off the Hundschopf (dog’s ears) jump and Odermatt crucially lost speed wobbling on his landing.
“The light was very, very bad. It was difficult to see the snow,” he said of the overcast conditions.
In his last race in Wengen before retiring, three-time Lauberhorn winner Beat Feuz was never in contention placing fifth, 1.25 behind Kilde. The Olympic downhill champion Feuz will finish his career racing the two Kitzbühel downhills next weekend in Austria, a place where he has won multiple times on the mythic Streif.
The podium today is Kilde, Odermatt and Casse. However, behind them was Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and the retiring Swiss star Beat Feuz. It was great to see Feuz finish his last Swiss World cup with a season-best result season. As expected, the fans welcomed him at the finish with thunderous applause. Feuz has announced that he will retire after the Kitzbühel races. Beat Feuz, the “Kugelblitz” is undoubtedly a crowd favorite. Feuz is a four-time downhill globe winner, 16-time World Cup winner, reigning Olympic downhill champion, and 2017 downhill FIS World Champion. He will be missed as a competitor in the Wengen and all other World Cup speed event finishes.
Wegen’s Lauberhorn rewarded good skiing throughout the race
Notably, it was a good day for racers skiing well throughout the field. Six athletes with start numbers above 30 scored. The Italian Florian Schieder, bib 44, finished the race 18th. But Swiss skier Alexis Monney, 2000 birthyear, started 37th and finished the day 10th. Additionally, all-around Austrian skier Marco Schwarz who started 31, finished sixth. However, Austrian athlete Julian Schuetter was the highest bib number to score. Schuetter started 49th and finished 20th. Because good skiing was rewarded throughout the race, it was exciting to the end.
North American performance
USA’s Jared Goldberg was the fastest among North Americans. Goldberg continues to progress and used an outstanding top sector to finish 20th. His teammate Bryce Benett used a fast fourth sector to finish in the points, 26th.
Goldberg was relatively satisfied with his day. “It’s something I can build on,” said Goldberg. “It’s a big confidence sport, especially when you’re skiing really fast in the dark.”
The only other North American to score today was Canadian James Crawford. Crawford is one of the best in the world, but today, he struggled to find his speed the entire way down the course. Most likely, he was limited by issues from his 80 mph crash in yesterday’s super-G. This season, Crawford is the only North American male to stand on a podium. He was third in Beaver Creek and second in Bormio.
Hopefully, next year fans and racers will experience the challenge of a two-and-a-half-minute Lauberhorn downhill. The top 30-40 seconds are spectacular. It is with that additional course length that you see utter exhaustion in the final turns and finish. The drama of athletes pushed to that level of physical exhaustion is compelling.
Analysis of the fastest three, top 30 North Americans, and top 30 results
Top 30 results January 14th Wengen Lauberhorn downhill
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.
