Kriechmayr excels on Stelvio to beat Kilde, Canada’s Crawford 2nd

BORMIO, ITALY. Vincent Kriechmayr. Photo: GEPA pictures

BORMIO, Italy – Bormio offered a gift to the racers competing today. Although the snow is icy, the ice is warm, and skis are carving just a little easier. Also, the skies are clear, but that is the end of Bormio’s generosity. The speeds are very high, the course is icy, and it is dark and bumpy. You can see the strain in the legs of every racer as they push in the final turns. Bormio is a beast. 

The race started with a new leader almost every time a racer crossed the finish. Ryan Cochran-Siegle, skiing with bib seven, was the leader until Canada’s James Crawford, bib eight, crossed 1.47 seconds faster. However, immediately after Crawford, the winner Vincent Kriechmayr, bib nine, crossed 0.40 seconds quicker than Crawford. 

All three skied at their limits. It was impressive to watch, but at the same time, it was scary. They gave every ounce of energy and struggled to arc the final turns. During their runs, disaster was obviously close. When viewing Bormio, it seems miraculous that any of the world’s best skiers make it to the finish. Being nervous while viewing Bormio in December is the majority’s experience. After 30 start numbers had passed, only 22 had completed their runs. 

Vincent Kriechmayr made a two-minute run on one of the world’s most demanding downhill courses look easy. The world champion from Austria skied the icy and bumpy 2,268-kilometer Stelvio to perfection to win the last men’s World Cup downhill of 2022.

It was Kriechmayr’s 14th World Cup victory and seventh in downhill.

Despite the many bumps and rolls, he maintained full control and never came off his race line, while most of his rivals struggled on parts of their runs.

“Winning here means a lot. It’s one of the classic events and every ski racer dreams of winning them once,” said Kriechmayr, who had three previous podium results on the Stelvio without a win.

“Today was definitely my best run here. I was not the fastest in the last section but it was a reasonable run.”

Kriechmayr is a proven champion who ignites when courses are challenging and it is realistic to believe Crawford is on the verge of a victory this season. These athletes will likely do well as we begin the most challenging part of the downhill season. 

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was great. It would be impossible to know without him telling us, but perhaps pushing so hard in the final training run had its cost. Today, he wasn’t his very best. He finished third, 0.68 seconds behind Kriechmayr and 0.28 seconds behind Crawford. The man is fantastic. He is strong and in superb condition, but he is a human, and humans only have so many matches to burn. 

After winning three downhills this season and clocking the fastest time by far in Tuesday’s final training, Kilde was widely regarded as the favorite.

However, he has no previous top-three results on the Stelvio. He was behind Kriechmayr’s time throughout his run and only just avoided a crash when he quickly regained his balance near the end.

“Vince was just too good today,” Kilde said. “It was a good run but not good enough.”

It was another excellent day for USA’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle. Cochran-Siegle finishes fifth, 0.41 seconds behind fourth place Marco Odermatt. The American racer continues to solidify himself as one of the 10 best in the world. Notably, it was a big day for USA’s Erik Arvidsson. Arvidsson started with bib 46 and finished tied 16th with Canadian Brodie Seger. Last season Arvidsson fought a back injury. However, this year had not started as he had hoped. He scored twice in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in 2021, but today is a welcome confirmation of his talent. Erik looked stronger than most in the bottom section. The other member of the US team to score was Travis Ganong in 24th. 

Canada continues to show they are a team on the rise. Besides Crawford’s 2nd place, three other Canadians had good days. Cameron Alexander finished 12th, Seger tied with Arvidsson in 16th, and Jeffery Read ended the day 19th. 

Analysis of the top three and North Americans in the points, additionally top 30 results

Top 30 results December 28th Bormio downhill