Featured Image: Alexis Monney racing Bormio DH. Credit: GEPA
The racers competed in an exhilarating descent on the renowned and demanding Stelvio course in Bormio, Italy. The Stelvio track will be hosting the men’s alpine events at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, so the field was eager to gain more experience on the challenging hill.
The weather was sunny and beautiful for the event, but the men still had to fight changing light conditions throughout the course.
Today, the Swiss men showed their successful depth of speed racers on their team with a new winner. Alexis Monney became the third Swiss athlete to finish triumphantly this season in a downhill race.
In the opening 2025 downhill, Justin Murisier won on the legendary Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and Marco Odermatt took victory in Val Gardena the weekend prior.
The 24-year-old athlete, Alexis Monney, threw down an impressive performance, earning his first World Cup victory of his career. Before this event, Monney’s top downhill result was last season in Kitzbühel where he achieved 8th place.
Monney was speechless. “I don’t know what to say. I cannot find the words and it is amazing. My father is here and some friends, this is crazy, I don’t know what to say.”
On the Stelvio track there are three notable sections: the Carcentina, a twisting S-turn that demands absolute precision at high speeds; the San Pietro Jump, a breathtaking leap requiring perfect timing; and the infamous Folate, a fast, rough, and icy finish that tests skiers’ physical and mental endurance.
Monney maintained composure and confidence through these critical sections and nailed the final technical turns. As he came through the finish, he bumped his teammate, Franjo Von Allmen, off of the leader’s chair.
“It is difficult to describe. It is amazing! This might be the last time I feel it this much because it is the first one. But it is one of the best memories of my life,” Monney continued.
The Podium
Another young Swiss athlete, Franjo Von Allmen, was third in the downhill World Cup standings coming into Bormio. He kicked out of the start wearing bib-3, and with his solid performance, he was able to hold off the entire top-15 field of racers.
After Von Allmen narrowly secured a position in the top 30 at Beaver Creek, where he finished 28th, Von Allmen delivered an outstanding performance in Val Gardena, culminating in a 2nd-place finish. This achievement marked the rising star’s first podium finish in downhill.
This podium finish gave the athlete confidence coming into Bormio to achieve another top-3 result.
Alpine Canada Alpin athlete Cameron Alexander secured a spot on the podium, finishing +0.72 seconds behind the leader. This marks his second consecutive third-place finish on the Stelvio track, having achieved the same result last year, which fueled his determination to claim victory today.
He has two other downhill podiums under his belt in Kvitfjell, where he has achieved his only victory in 2022 and a 3rd place last season.
Although Alexander started the season off with a DNF on the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado, he was able to grab onto a top 10 in Val Gardena. Excitingly, his performance today will move him up the World Cup downhill standings.
Marco Odermatt
Marco Odermatt came into Bormio leading the men’s downhill standings after finishing second in the opening downhill race of the World Cup season in Beaver Creek and winning the second race, in Val Gardena.
However, today the Swiss star ran into some trouble hitting a big compression before Carcentina. Although he lost it a bit, he impressively pulled himself together and regained his composure. He was unable to secure a podium result but remained in the top 5, finishing in 5th place. He still remains on top of the downhill World Cup standings.
Odermatt has not been able to win the downhill on the Stelvio track. Regardless, he showed great leadership in the finish arena, cheering on his younger teammates as they secured the top two steps of the podium.
Cyprien Sarrazin’s Absence
A year prior, Cyprien Sarrazin marked his first World Cup triumph on the Stelvio track. However, this year, the narrative shifted dramatically. On the second training day, Sarrazin experienced a severe crash and required helicopter evacuation from the scene. He has been diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and is currently in neurological intensive care. There is a collective hope for his swift recovery.
Dominik Paris
The Italian Dominik Paris holds the best record from the field in Bormio. He has won seven World Cup races here.
Nevertheless, today he looked a bit hesitant on the track and struggled with the line. This season he has not been able to secure a top-15 finish in downhill, and today he was unable to finish in the top 30.
North Americans
The Canadians were the fastest of the North Americans on the Stelvio track. Cameron Alexander secured the podium, and his teammate, James (Jack) Crawford, concluded the day in 17th place.
Crawford was ranked 9th in the downhill World Cup standings coming into the Bormio event. He began the season with a stellar 4th place finish on the Bird of Prey in Beaver Creek but could not secure a top-30 result in Val Gardena. Thereby, Crawford was looking to get back into leaderboard contention in this event.
Unfortunately, the rest of the North American competitors had a challenging day on the demanding track. Five of the North Americans, including Jeffrey Read, Sam Morse, Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg, and Kyle Negomir, did not finish in the top 30.
Both Ryan Cochran-Siegle of the Stifel US Ski team and Wiley Maple, an independent SYNC athlete, did not finish the course.
Cochran-Siegle, fresh off a podium performance, had confidence coming into the race. He was holding the fastest time through the first three sections. Unfortunately, before the San Pietro jump, he got a little compressed just before the takeoff. He was thrown up in the air but immediately got up and skied down through a round of applause.
Maple, wearing bib-38, came into one of the top gates too straight and was off the race line. He was pushed out of the course and was unable to finish.
Attack From the Back Highlight
The highest bib number to achieve a top-30 result was Italian racer, Giovanni Franzoni. He kicked out of the start wearing bib 52 and impressively moved up to 19th position. After his incredible 4th-place in super-G on the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey, he has confidence to carry into the rest of the season. This will be his second downhill points of 2025.
Top 30 Race Results
Top Three Analysis
North American Analysis
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
