ÖSV men disappoint

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Alexis Monney surprisingly secured victory in the downhill in Bormio.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Swiss surprise victory in the downhill in Bormio! On Saturday, youngster Alexis Monney secured victory ahead of his compatriot Franjo von Allmen. Third place went to Cameron Alexander from Canada. For the ÖSV men, on the other hand, there was nothing to be gained on the Stelvio either. Vincent Kriechmayr finished in eighth place, making him the best Austrian. Dominator Marco Odermatt (5th place) only played a supporting role in the Swiss team today and had a moment of shock to deal with.

The third downhill of the season also produced a Swiss double victory on Saturday. Alexis Monney skied to his first World Cup victory on the bumpy "Stelvio" in Bormio, relegating his compatriot Franjo von Allmen to second place (+0.24 sec.). Third place went to the Canadian Cameron Alexander (+0.72). The ÖSV aces clearly missed out on the first downhill podium of the season, with Vincent Kriechmayr finishing eighth as the best red-white-red athlete.

The Upper Austrian was faster than winner Monney in the upper section, but a mistake in the traverse led to a modest final section. Kriechmayr finally crossed the finish line over a second late (+1.12). "It's not the result I was aiming for. In the end, that's a big gap. It's a bit depressing," Kriechmayr said on ORF. "Now I have to refocus and learn the lessons from this."

Other ÖSV skiers outside the top ten
The other Austrians also missed out on an absolute top result in the downhill race on the "Stelvio". However, it was remarkable that Daniel Hemetsberger with bib number 37 still managed to finish eleventh. Stefan Babinsky, who started as test pilot with number one, came 15th, Felix Hacker, Vincent Wieser, Otmar Striedinger and Manuel Traninger finished 23rd to 26th, while Stefan Rieser came 30th and scored another World Cup point. Stefan Eichberger, sixth last time in Val Gardena/Gröden, crashed but remained uninjured.

Vincent Kriechmayr

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Kriechmayr's eighth place as the best ÖSV athlete was the worst red-white-red result in Bormio so far. In the 31 previous downhill races, at least one Austrian had always finished in the top five. Local hero Dominik Paris was clearly left behind. The multiple downhill winner from Bormio did not even make it into the points this time in his "living room" in 31st place.

Otmar Striedinger

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The Swiss festival began with start number three. With a flawless run, von Allmen set a time that all the top skiers would subsequently fail to match. Just as the 23-year-old seemed to be speculating on his first World Cup victory, his compatriot Monney, one year his senior, caught him with number 19. "It's unbelievable. I had doubts on the piste and I actually thought I was far behind," explained the former junior world champion, whose best World Cup result to date was an eighth place in the downhill in Kitzbühel in January.

Odermatt with a moment of shock
Marco Odermatt missed out on the podium for the first time with fifth place in the third downhill of the season. A snow accumulation in the middle section prevented the ski dominator from achieving a better position. "I hit a bump, I was lucky," said Odermatt, who also commented on the difficult conditions: "It's a brutal battle, but you know that when you leave Christmas and come to Bormio." With Justin Murisier (6th) and Marco Kohler (9th), two more athletes from the strong Swiss team finished in the top ten. Murisier and Odermatt won the first two downhill races of the season in Beaver Creek and Val Gardena/Gröden respectively.

The mood was still clouded by the serious crash of last year's winner Cyprien Sarrazin in the final training run on Friday. The Frenchman was subsequently diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, a hemorrhage near the brain. The necessary operation was successful, but Sarrazin is still in an induced coma.