American Bryce Bennett makes second World Cup podium in three days
Bryce Bennett of the United States scored another surprise on Saturday, returning to the podium two days after his first World Cup victory in two years.
The 31-year-old from Palisades Tahoe, who started 18th after winning from bib number 34 on Thursday, finished third in a downhill in Italy's Val Gardena, six-tenths behind Italian Dominik Paris and 16-hundredths behind second-placed Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway.
“Today felt better than Thursday,” Bennett said Saturday. “It's a lot to deal with, and I've never been in that position where you can ski well in a race and then get another shot the same week. So to get past that mentally and have a good run is a huge win for me.
According to NBC Sports, Bennett became the first American man to complete multiple World Cup downhills in one season since Steven Nyman in 2015-2016 – and the 6-foot-2 Californian has done so in the first two downhills of the season.
Paris, 34, survived a long wait in the leader's seat before securing the 18th World Cup downhill victory of his career and moving level with Stephan Eberharter for third on the all-time list. Only Franz Klammer (25) and Peter Müller (19) have completed more descents than Paris.
Most of Paris' victories came before he tore his knee in a crash during training in January 2020.
He went on to win three races, but his last victory came in Kvitfjell in March 2022. Since then, Paris has only finished on the podium once. He finished 11th in a new downhill in Val Gardena on Thursday as the men's World Cup speed season finally got underway, but was a paltry 55th in a super-G on Friday.
But during a fast and furious run on the Saslong course, Paris finished 0.44 seconds ahead of Kilde, who could only smile wryly and applaud from the winner's seat.
“You see that Dominik is now back where he belongs,” Kilde said. “He's a great skier and of course he's been struggling here for a few years, but when you ski like he did today it's nice to see and it's really nice for Italians to get a home win.”
Paris was the only skier to clock under two minutes.
It also broke something of a taboo for Italy on one of its home circuits, as Kristian Ghedina was the last Italian to win a downhill on the Saslong in 2001.
It was only the second downhill of the season after the speed races in Beaver Creek, Colorado, were canceled a few weeks ago. Thursday's race was moved from the yet-to-be-organised Zermatt-Cervinia cross-border event last month.
On Sunday and Monday there are giant slalom races in nearby Alta Badia, a series of five races in five days.
Flury wins downhill for second World Cup victory
Jasmine Flury claimed only her second World Cup victory as the Swiss skier triumphed in a downhill race at France's Val-d'Isere circuit on Saturday, while Sofia Goggia moved to the top of the discipline leaderboard in the absence of Mikaela Shiffrin.
Flury was 0.22 seconds ahead of compatriot Joana Haehlen and 0.24 faster than Austrian skier Cornelia Huetter in a race postponed due to a horrific crash by Stefanie Fleckenstein.
Flury's only other career World Cup victory was a super-G in her native Switzerland six years ago, although the 30-year-old recorded a surprise win at the world championships in February.
“To now win a World Cup race after the world championship takes the pressure off me a bit and I'm just very happy,” said Flury.
“It was a wild flight. It was really tricky, the slope was a little bumpier than yesterday and I just tried to put good pressure on the outside ski and keep going to the finish.”
Racing with bib number 6 and with most of the pre-race favorites skiing behind her, it seemed unlikely that Flury would remain in the leader's seat, but none of them even managed to make the podium.
Haehlen equaled her career best World Cup result in any discipline by finishing second for the third time.
“It's perfect, sharing the podium with Jasmine is what you dream of as a young racer,” said the 31-year-old.
Standout downhill racer Goggia, who admitted afterwards that she was far from her best form and was also suffering from a cold, came fourth, 0.44 behind Flury after a mistake in the second part of the OK course, named after the French skiing greats Henri Oreiller and Jean-Claude Killy.
Goggia nevertheless took over the lead in the discipline. The Italian, who has topped the World Cup downhill standings in each of the past three seasons, has 17 points more than Flury and 20 more than Huetter.
Shiffrin, who last week won the only other downhill so far this season, is 30 points behind Goggia. The American is selectively choosing her downhills – to fit into a racing and training schedule that prioritizes slalom and giant slalom – and opted to skip Saturday's race.
The race was stopped for about 20 minutes so Fleckenstein could be treated and carried off the course. The Canadian skier crashed right at the end of her run and slid across the finish line, screaming in pain. Other athletes covered their eyes and ears as Fleckenstein's cries of pain were clearly heard.
Shiffrin still leads the overall World Cup standings, where she is competing for a record-breaking sixth title. She has a 163-point lead over 2020 champion Federica Brignone, while 2016 winner Lara Gut-Behrami is 28 points further back.
A super-G is scheduled for Sunday in Val d'Isere.