Hintermann Clinches Second Win, North American Success and Odermatt Gets Closer to the Globe at the Kvitfjell Downhill!

Featured Image: Podium from the Kvitfjell men’s downhill. Credit: GEPA

It was a pristine, bluebird sky day at the men’s World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway. The crowd was booming with excitement, and the athletes were prepared to give it their all for the second-to-last downhill race of the 2024 season.

For some athletes, it will be their last downhill competition of the season as the field battles for a spot in the World Cup Finals in Saalbach, Austria. Today came with a lot of excitement, milestones, a set closer to securing the globe and success from later bib numbers.

Niels Hintermann had an outstanding day, earning his first victory of the 2024 season. The Swiss athlete has won one other downhill World Cup, which was on this hill in 2022. This season, he has not been able to find the podium but has earned three top-10 finishes.

Hintermann stated, “I think it is quite important to get a rhythm from start to finish,” he continued, “today in the upper part I didn’t feel that great and it was difficult to carry that speed.”

Coming into Kvitfjell, Hintermann was ranked 13th in the World Cup Standings. 

“I couldn’t figure it out this year and it was quite a tough season thus far, so I am so happy,” he continues, “I am already looking forward to next season, for Saalbach and to keep pushing it into next year.” 

Marco Odermatt, the current leader of the overall World Cup Standings, entered today’s race, striving for the downhill globe. He has been holding onto the top of the downhill World Cup Standings with an impressive 516 points before today. 

Cyprien Sarrazin, positioned 2nd in the downhill World Cup Standings, just 6 points behind Odermatt, unfortunately, had a fall during his training session, which prevented him from competing today.

Ordermatt kicked out of the start, wearing bib-10, and immediately established a lead in the top section of the course. However, he lost speed in the critical mid-section of the track. Although he continued to fully send it from top to bottom, he could not clinch the lead, finishing in 7th place. He came through, tying with Ryan Cochran-Siegle, +0.75 behind Hintermann’s time. 

The Swiss athlete was frustrated with his run in the finish arena, but was able to get closer to securing the downhill 2024 Crystal Globe. This would be Odermatt’s first downhill World Cup title and he is in the lead with 552 points. 

Alpine Canada Alpin athlete Cameron Alexander won on the Kvitfjell track in 2022, his first and only victory in his World Cup career. Wearing bib-5, the athlete aimed to make another mark on this hill. He looked solid and confident from the beginning to the end, which brought him through the finish -0.90 in front of Stefan Rogentin, who was holding the lead. 

Alexander stated, “The conditions here are always winter, which is similar to a lot of the training in North America. So I feel comfortable and competent here and able to bring my best for the team.” 

However, Alexander did not stay in the leader position for long as the Austrian, Vincent Kriechmayr, finished -0.11 ahead of the Canadian’s time. Kriechmayer finished in 2nd place, achieving his 15th downhill podium. 

North Americans

Today was a very successful day for the North American teams. The Stifel US Ski Team completed the day with 3 racers in the top 10 and Alpine Canada Alpin had a podium finish and one other athlete in the top 10. 

This marked an all-out 2024 event for the United States men’s speed team with 6 out of the 8 starters finishing in the top 30. 

After Cameron Alexander’s podium finish, Bryce Bennett, a Stifel US Ski Team member, had the top North American time. Merely off the podium (+0.10), Bennett achieved 4th place, his 4th top 10 downhill finish this season. 

Alpine Canada Alpin Jeffrey Read was the next North American athlete on the leaderboard. Read had a screaming time, moving up 31 spots to 6th place, almost tying his career best of 5th. 

Ryan Cochran-Siegle tied the World Cup leader, Odermatt, finishing in 7th place. He was the first Stifel US Ski Team athlete to push out of the stargate and earned his 15th top-10 result in the World Cup downhill. 

Sam Morse, wearing bib-23, looked strong and confident through the top sections of the course. He skied a clean line throughout the track and picked up speed in the last two sections of the course. He finished the day in 10th place, which matches his best World Cup result. It is his second World Cup top 10, his other being in Val Gardena with a 10th-place finish. 

Three other North Americans finished in the top 20: Jared Goldberg (17th), Wiley Maple (19th), and Kyle Negomir (19th). 

It was Kyle Negomir’s second time scoring in a World Cup downhill event. His first time was a 30th-place result in Val Gardena this season. 

Fast Speeds from Later Bib Numbers 

There were several later bib numbers to commend in the downhill event today. 

Franjo Von Allmen of the Switzerland Ski Team threw down a significant run. Starting bib-28, he achieved his 1st top-10 and top-5 in a World Cup downhill, securing 5th place. He beat his leading teammate, Odermatt, which was an exciting surprise for the 22-year-old. 

Jeffrey Read (CAN) and Joshua Mettler of Switzerland both skied from the 30s into the top 10. Read started bib-37 and achieved a 6th place finish, and Mettler started bib-32 and moved up to 9th. 

This was Mettler’s inaugural top-10 World Cup finish, marking a significant milestone in his career. Kvitfjell proved to be a fruitful day for these promising athletes, as they scored impressively.

Top 30 Results

Top 3 Analysis

North Americans in the Top 30