Featured Image: Sweden’s Felix Monsen races to a third-place finish. Photo: Andrea Briseño
Czechia’s Barbora Novakova and independent American Haley Cutler controlled the women’s speed races during four days of South American Cup competition at La Parva, Chile.
Cutler opened the series with a downhill victory and never finished outside the top two. However, Novakova responded with three consecutive wins, completing a downhill victory and a super-G sweep.
Meanwhile, Germany’s reigning junior world speed champions dominated the men’s races. Felix Roesle swept the downhills, while Benno Brandis won both super-Gs.
The Sept. 1-4 races brought emerging prospects and established World Cup competitors together on La Parva’s Barros Negros course. The speed track drops 550 meters, from 3,560 meters to 3,010.
Although the races took place in 2026, FIS classifies them as part of the 2027 South American Cup season. The results also provided valuable preseason benchmarks ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Cutler earns opening downhill victory
Cutler started the series by beating Novakova by 0.11 seconds in the Sept. 1 downhill. Chilean Matilde Schwencke completed the podium, finishing 0.82 behind.
The result continued Cutler’s climb as an independent World Cup racer. The former University of New Mexico and Montana State skier scored her first World Cup point in March 2025. Then, during the 2025-26 season, she produced seven point-scoring World Cup finishes. Her best was 20th in the St. Moritz downhill.
Schwencke’s third place gave the home nation an early podium. She had finished 27th in the 2026 Olympic downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Three-time University of Colorado All-American Stefanie Fleckenstein placed 10th. The independent Canadian continues a long comeback from the complex tibia fracture she suffered after crashing in the finish area of the Val d’Isère World Cup downhill on Dec. 16, 2023.
Sept. 1 women’s downhill — Race penalty: 29.73
- 1st 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — Independent American; former New Mexico and Montana State racer — 1:13.79 — 29.73 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 1:13.90 (+0.11) — 31.59 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇨🇱 CHI Matilde Schwencke — 1:14.61 (+0.82) — 43.62 FIS point result
- 4th 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 1:15.36 (+1.57) — 56.33 FIS point result
- 5th 🇺🇸 USA Bobbi Jo Griffin — 1:15.77 (+1.98) — 63.27 FIS point result
- 6th 🇬🇧 GBR Giselle Gorringe — 1:15.90 (+2.11) — 65.47 FIS point result
- 10th 🇨🇦 CAN Stefanie Fleckenstein — Independent Canadian; three-time University of Colorado All-American — 1:16.65 (+2.86) — 78.18 FIS point result
Sept. 1 women’s SAC downhill results
Roesle starts La Parva with a statement
Roesle led an experienced international field in the opening men’s downhill. The German beat French World Cup speed veteran Matthieu Bailet by 0.37, while independent Swedish racer Felix Monsen finished third.
Roesle arrived in Chile as the reigning junior world downhill champion. He won the 2025 title in Tarvisio, Italy, by two-hundredths of a second.
Sam Morse led four Americans into the top 15. The Dartmouth College alumnus and 2017 junior world downhill champion finished 11th. Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Isaiah Nelson, Aksel Lindenmeyr and Jeremy Nolting placed 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively.
Great Britain’s Owen Vinter, who made his World Cup debut during the 2025-26 season, finished 17th.
Sept. 1 men’s downhill — Race penalty: 15.00
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Felix Roesle — Reigning junior world downhill champion — 1:10.66 — 15.00 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇫🇷 FRA Matthieu Bailet — World Cup speed veteran — 1:11.03 (+0.37) — 21.55 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇸🇪 SWE Felix Monsen — Independent Swedish racer — 1:11.76 (+1.10) — 34.46 FIS point result
- 11th 🇺🇸 USA Sam Morse — Dartmouth College; 2017 junior world downhill champion — 1:12.46 (+1.80) — 46.84 FIS point result
- 13th 🇺🇸 USA Isaiah Nelson, Stifel U.S. Ski Team — 1:12.63 (+1.97) — 49.85 FIS point result
- 14th 🇺🇸 USA Aksel Lindenmeyr, rookie Stifel U.S. Ski Team member — 1:12.64 (+1.98) — 50.03 FIS point result
- 15th 🇺🇸 USA Jeremy Nolting, Stifel U.S. Ski Team — 1:12.77 (+2.11) — 52.33 FIS point result
- 17th 🇬🇧 GBR Owen Vinter — 1:12.92 (+2.26) — 54.98 FIS point result
Sept. 1 men’s SAC downhill results
Novakova answers Cutler in second downhill
Novakova turned the tables on Cutler in the Sept. 2 downhill. However, only six-hundredths separated the two racers.
The Czech Olympian had already demonstrated her speed at the sport’s highest level. In February, she started 31st and finished 14th in the Olympic super-G at Cortina d’Ampezzo. She also placed 25th in the Olympic downhill.
Argentina’s Nicole Begue took third. The 19-year-old Olympian had placed fourth the previous day, while Gorringe improved from sixth to fifth.
Fleckenstein moved from 10th to sixth and lowered her FIS point result from 78.18 to 62.34, an encouraging step in her return.
Sept. 2 women’s downhill — Race penalty: 29.61
- 1st 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 2026 Olympian — 1:16.38 — 29.61 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — Independent American; former New Mexico and Montana State racer — 1:16.44 (+0.06) — 30.59 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 2026 Olympian — 1:16.89 (+0.51) — 37.96 FIS point result
- 4th 🇨🇱 CHI Matilde Schwencke — 1:17.67 (+1.29) — 50.72 FIS point result
- 5th 🇬🇧 GBR Giselle Gorringe — 1:18.24 (+1.86) — 60.05 FIS point result
- 6th 🇨🇦 CAN Stefanie Fleckenstein — Independent Canadian; three-time University of Colorado All-American — 1:18.38 (+2.00) — 62.34 FIS point result
Sept 2 SAC women’s downhill results
Roesle completes downhill sweep
Roesle completed a perfect La Parva downhill series on Sept. 2. Once again, Bailet and Monsen joined him on the podium.
The margins remained convincing. Roesle beat Bailet by 0.33 and Monsen by 0.72. As a result, the German left La Parva with the maximum 200 downhill points.
Rookie Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Mattias Wilson produced the leading American performance. The 19-year-old finished sixth in a field filled with World Cup experience.
Sept. 2 men’s downhill — Race penalty: 15.00
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Felix Roesle — Reigning junior world downhill champion — 1:12.97 — 15.00 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇫🇷 FRA Matthieu Bailet — World Cup speed veteran — 1:13.30 (+0.33) — 20.65 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇸🇪 SWE Felix Monsen — Independent Swedish racer — 1:13.69 (+0.72) — 27.33 FIS point result
- 4th 🇩🇪 GER Simon Jocher — 1:13.96 (+0.99) — 31.96 FIS point result
- 5th 🇫🇷 FRA Ken Caillot — 1:14.01 (+1.04) — 32.82 FIS point result
- 6th 🇺🇸 USA Mattias Wilson, rookie Stifel U.S. Ski Team member — 1:14.17 (+1.20) — 35.56 FIS point result
Sept. 2 men’s SAC downhill results
Novakova takes control in super-G
Novakova carried her downhill momentum into the Sept. 3 super-G. She defeated Cutler by 0.44 to earn her second consecutive victory.
Begue completed the podium for the second straight day. Meanwhile, Fleckenstein opened the super-G portion of the series in seventh.
Cutler’s runner-up finish gave her three top-two results in three races. Novakova, however, had moved ahead of the American in their head-to-head series with back-to-back wins.
Sept. 3 women’s super-G — Race penalty: 28.54
- 1st 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 1:22.11 — 28.54 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — Independent American; former New Mexico and Montana State racer — 1:22.55 (+0.44) — 34.92 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 1:23.50 (+1.39) — 48.68 FIS point result
- 7th 🇨🇦 CAN Stefanie Fleckenstein — Independent Canadian; three-time University of Colorado All-American — 1:25.24 (+3.13) — 73.90 FIS point result
Sept 3 women’s SAC super-G results
Brandis extends Germany’s winning run
Another reigning junior world champion gave Germany its third consecutive men’s victory at La Parva.
Brandis, the 2025 junior world super-G champion, beat Monsen by three-hundredths. Germany’s Luis Vogt and Slovenia’s Nejc Naralocnik tied for third, 0.49 behind.
The leading Americans finished almost inseparably. Stifel U.S. Ski Team veteran Isaiah Nelson placed seventh, while rookie teammate Lindenmeyr finished eighth. Only one-hundredth separated them.
Nelson won the 2022 junior world super-G title and made his World Cup debut later that year. Lindenmeyr placed seventh in the 2025 junior world super-G won by Brandis.
Sept. 3 men’s super-G — Race penalty: 15.00
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Benno Brandis — Reigning junior world super-G champion — 1:19.07 — 15.00 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇸🇪 SWE Felix Monsen — Independent Swedish racer — 1:19.10 (+0.03) — 15.45 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇩🇪 GER Luis Vogt — 1:19.56 (+0.49) — 22.37 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇸🇮 SLO Nejc Naralocnik — 1:19.56 (+0.49) — 22.37 FIS point result
- 7th 🇺🇸 USA Isaiah Nelson, Stifel U.S. Ski Team; 2022 junior world super-G champion — 1:19.73 (+0.66) — 24.93 FIS point result
- 8th 🇺🇸 USA Aksel Lindenmeyr, rookie Stifel U.S. Ski Team member — 1:19.74 (+0.67) — 25.08 FIS point result
Sept 3 men’s SAC super-G results
Four races, four podiums for Cutler
Novakova completed her three-race winning streak in the final women’s super-G. She beat Cutler by 0.26, while Schwencke earned her second podium of the series.
Still, Cutler’s consistency stood out. She finished the four races with one victory and three runner-up finishes. Her three losses to Novakova came by 0.06, 0.44 and 0.26.
Fleckenstein ended the series with another meaningful step. She finished fifth, her best result of the week, and achieved a 61.74 FIS point result.
Sept. 4 women’s super-G — Race penalty: 35.78
- 1st 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 1:20.22 — 35.78 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — Independent American; former New Mexico and Montana State racer — 1:20.48 (+0.26) — 39.64 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇨🇱 CHI Matilde Schwencke — 1:20.92 (+0.70) — 46.16 FIS point result
- 4th 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 1:21.83 (+1.61) — 59.66 FIS point result
- 5th 🇨🇦 CAN Stefanie Fleckenstein — Independent Canadian; three-time University of Colorado All-American — 1:21.97 (+1.75) — 61.74 FIS point result
- 6th 🇺🇸 USA Bobbi Jo Griffin — 1:22.34 (+2.12) — 67.23 FIS point result
- 6th 🇨🇿 CZE Alena Labastova — 1:22.34 (+2.12) — 67.23 FIS point result
Sept. 4 women’s SAC super-G results
Brandis seals the second German sweep
Brandis secured the second men’s sweep of the week in the final super-G. However, Bailet pushed him to the limit, finishing only 0.06 behind.
France put two racers on the podium as Adrien Fresquet finished third. Nelson missed the podium by 0.12 but improved from seventh to fourth. His 24.82 FIS point result also narrowly bettered the 24.93 he scored the previous day.
Canadian World Cup podium finisher Jeffrey Read placed eighth. Lindenmeyr tied Vogt for ninth, giving the rookie two top-10 finishes in two super-G starts.
Sept. 4 men’s super-G — Race penalty: 15.00
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Benno Brandis — Reigning junior world super-G champion — 1:16.32 — 15.00 FIS point result
- 2nd 🇫🇷 FRA Matthieu Bailet — World Cup speed veteran — 1:16.38 (+0.06) — 15.94 FIS point result
- 3rd 🇫🇷 FRA Adrien Fresquet — 1:16.83 (+0.51) — 22.95 FIS point result
- 4th 🇺🇸 USA Isaiah Nelson, Stifel U.S. Ski Team; 2022 junior world super-G champion — 1:16.95 (+0.63) — 24.82 FIS point result
- 8th 🇨🇦 CAN Jeffrey Read — World Cup podium finisher — 1:17.21 (+0.89) — 28.88 FIS point result
- 9th 🇺🇸 USA Aksel Lindenmeyr, rookie Stifel U.S. Ski Team member — 1:17.27 (+0.95) — 29.81 FIS point result
- 9th 🇩🇪 GER Luis Vogt — 1:17.27 (+0.95) — 29.81 FIS point result
Sept. 4 men’s SAC super-G results
Current South American Cup speed standings
The La Parva races completed two of the four scheduled downhills and super-Gs. Therefore, the discipline titles remain undecided.
Women’s downhill standings — after 2 of 4 races
- 1st 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 180 points
- 1st 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — 180 points
- 3rd 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 110 points, 70 behind
- 3rd 🇨🇱 CHI Matilde Schwencke — 110 points, 70 behind
- 5th 🇬🇧 GBR Giselle Gorringe — 85 points, 95 behind
Women’s super-G standings — after 2 of 4 races
- 1st 🇨🇿 CZE Barbora Novakova — 200 points
- 2nd 🇺🇸 USA Haley Cutler — 160 points, 40 behind
- 3rd 🇦🇷 ARG Nicole Begue — 110 points, 90 behind
- 4th 🇨🇿 CZE Alena Labastova — 90 points, 110 behind
- 5th 🇨🇦 CAN Stefanie Fleckenstein — 81 points, 119 behind
Men’s downhill standings — after 2 of 4 races
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Felix Roesle — 200 points
- 2nd 🇫🇷 FRA Matthieu Bailet — 160 points, 40 behind
- 3rd 🇸🇪 SWE Felix Monsen — 120 points, 80 behind
- 4th 🇩🇪 GER Simon Jocher — 86 points, 114 behind
- 5th 🇫🇷 FRA Ken Caillot — 85 points, 115 behind
Men’s super-G standings — after 2 of 4 races
- 1st 🇩🇪 GER Benno Brandis — 200 points
- 2nd 🇸🇪 SWE Felix Monsen — 104 points, 96 behind
- 3rd 🇫🇷 FRA Adrien Fresquet — 89 points, 111 behind
- 3rd 🇩🇪 GER Luis Vogt — 89 points, 111 behind
- 5th 🇺🇸 USA Isaiah Nelson, Stifel U.S. Ski Team — 86 points, 114 behind
Corralco will decide the speed titles
The South American Cup speed championships will conclude at Corralco, Chile, from Sept. 22-26.
About the Author: Matt Garcka
