Only Swiss better

Men’s Super-G in Wengen – LIVE from 12.30 pm

Franjo von Allmen (left) and Vincent Kriechmayr

(Bild: AP/Gabriele Facciotti, Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Vincent Kriechmayr just missed out on his first victory of the season in the Ski World Cup by a whisker on Friday. The Upper Austrian was beaten by the Swiss Franjo von Allmen by just ten hundredths of a second in the Wengen Super-G. It was the 23-year-old Swiss racer's premiere as winner, having previously achieved two second places and one third place. Third place went to another Swiss skier, Stefan Rogentin (+0.58), who crashed in the first training run.

Kriechmayr was the fastest in the final section, but lost too much time in the middle section. "It was a flawless run", Kriechmayr said in the ORF interview. "At Langentrejen I went a bit wide on the double left, it's a bit soft there. I couldn't get anything back from the ski and really noticed how it took away my speed." He would quickly find a tenth of a second, but the same applies to Von Allmen, Kriechmayr emphasized.

The result:

It was the second podium finish for him this year after second place in the super-G in Bormio. "It's definitely pointing in the right direction in the super-G. We'll see what happens tomorrow in the downhill," said the 33-year-old. The downhill classic will also start on Saturday at 12.30 pm. "You can see by now, you simply must never back down, I managed that well today. But tomorrow is another challenge, of course."

Vincent Kriechmayr

(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Marco Odermatt

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Daniel Hemetsberger

(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Franjo von Allmen

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Von Allmen has already shown his potential on several occasions, and the local hero from the Bernese Oberland could not have chosen a better place for his first victory. "I had a very good feeling today, right from the start," he said. He does not see himself as the new Marco Odermatt. "I will try to make my own way - and it will certainly be difficult to top Marco Odermatt." Von Allmen secured the ninth Swiss victory in the 18th men's race this winter, Austria is still without a win.

Odermatt with unusual mistakes
The overall World Cup leader Odermatt did not come close to another podium finish at the Lauberhorn races this time. The 27-year-old left the ideal line too often, ultimately finishing 1.04 seconds behind in seventh place. The second best Austrian was Lukas Feurstein (+1.32) in tenth place. Stefan Babinsky (15th/+1.60), Daniel Hemetsberger (16th/+1.62) and Otmar Striedinger (21st/+2.02) missed out on the top ten and thus advertising for a World Championship ticket. Stefan Eichberger finished in 23rd place. Manuel Traninger (37th) and Stefan Rieser (42nd) were outside the top 30, Andreas Ploier was eliminated.

"I think the run was okay," said Feurstein. "At the start, I just struggled a bit with the skate step and everything, I started somewhere," said the athlete, who has a hand disability. He also didn't quite get the core S according to plan. "It was brutally bumpy at times. That's why I'm very happy with my performance on the number (26; note). Now I hope that I have a better starting number next time." The man from Vorarlberg can now also count on the right to start in the super-G.