GEPA pictures/ Wolfgang Grebien

Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, the 2024 overall World Cup leader, wins her seventh World Cup of the season. However, it is her first downhill victory. It is also her third Crans-Montana downhill win. The superstar has now won 12 World Cup downhill races during her career. Today’s result also moves her into the lead for the season’s downhill title among active skiers. She could move ahead of the injured Goggia tomorrow with a fourth place or better.

“It was not an easy run. The snow is pretty soft, so everything gets more challenging. I have to say I didn’t have a great feeling. I just tried to push hard,” said Gut-Behrami

Considering the type of course and its location in Switzerland, she entered the race as one of the favorites, but today, she dominated. She also takes a giant step toward achieving her second overall title, adding 100 points to her advantage over the recovering Mikaela Shiffrin.

Switzerland and Austria share the second step

Warm snow compromised the conditions in the finish area, prompting the organizers to move the finish line well up the hill. However, after the first ten skiers had completed their runs, Swiss World Champion Jasmine Flury found herself tied for the lead with Austrian Cornelia Huetter.

However, after bib 11, Gut-Behrami, Flury, and Huetter were tied for second place (+0.21). The two women who shared the second step of the podium used different sectors to gain and lose the advantage between them, but in the end, their times were identical. The podium ceremony thrilled the Swiss crowd with two women at the top of the results.

“It was a good run; it was a little bit slushy from the conditions but the surface was OK and a very solid run,” said Huetter, “At the flat, I was a little bit too slow because I think the first gates I skied a little bit too many turns before, so I didn’t take the speed with me,”

“I usually don’t like it if I don’t feel the skis under my feet and with these kinds of conditions it is a little bit like that but I just tried to focus, to push a bit more than in the training runs, to be active until the finish line,” Flury said

Nonetheless, the season’s best skier, Swiss superstar Gut-Behrami, skied better than the rest. To win on the Mont Lachaux requires precisely executing many turns with a big swing. Gut-Behrami is currently the best in the world at slicing sweeping turns with clean arcs. She used those skills to deliver a decisive run and the win.

Stifel US Ski Team

The first of the Stifel US Ski Team to race was Isabella Wright. She had two good training runs, but today, she misjudged her speed into a big turn near the top and did not finish. Wright is currently outside the top 25 for the season and will need a good race tomorrow to help her qualify for the finals in Saalbach. She had the fastest split in the first sector but could not handle that speed in the second.

Two racers after Wright, her teammate Jacqueline Wiles skied with determination. She arrived in Crans-Montana fresh off a Cortina d’Ampezzo downhill podium. Wiles skied at her limit and fought through all the course challenges but lacked the precision to rule the day. Wiles ended the day a very respectable 13th (+0.82)). In the short course, every mistake opens the door to competition. She will look forward to cleaning up her run tomorrow.

USA’s Lauren Macuga has become a world-class super-G skier, and she used those skills on a course with sweeping turns to score her second-best downhill of her career. Macuga has come a long way in her two seasons in the World Cup, and today’s 20th-place finish (+1.26) will contribute toward her challenging pursuit of an invitation to the World Cup finals in Saalbach, Austria.

It was also exciting to see all the Stifel US Ski Team members host their World Cup rookie Allison Mollin on their shoulders in the finish to celebrate her first World Cup race.

The time differential between the winner and the 30th was (2.17). Athletes from eleven nations comprised the top 30.

Outside the safety fences, the snowless grass-covered mountainside and the elevated finish of the race reminded everyone of the struggle the Alps have had with the warm winter. The surface was only possible with manufactured snow. The course also required chemicals to make the race possible.

As the excitement settles from today’s thrilling race, anticipation builds for tomorrow’s event on the same challenging course. Fans can expect another exhilarating showdown as the women racers take to the slopes once more. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, the current overall World Cup leader, will aim to extend her dominance, setting the stage for yet another gripping competition.

Top thirty results and analysis of the fastest three and Stifel US Ski Team members who scored World Cup downhill points in Crans-Montana.

Analysis of the fastest three and Stifel US Ski Team members who scored World Cup downhill points in Crans-Montana.