Italy shines in final men’s downhill of the World Cup season

By Published On: March 15th, 2017Comments Off on Italy shines in final men’s downhill of the World Cup season

ASPEN, Colo. — Spring has definitely sprung in Aspen, Colo. as World Cup Finals kicked off on Wednesday with the final men’s downhill of the season. It was shaping up to be a tough fight between Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud and Italy’s Peter Fill for the coveted crystal globe, as only 33 points separated the two at the top of the standings. As the mid-morning sun beat down in the finish, Italy had a lot to celebrate as Dominik Paris took the wire-to-wire win with a time of 1:33.07 seconds, a slim 0.08 seconds ahead of Fill and 0.18 seconds clear of Swiss Carlo Janka in third. Fill also walked away with his second consecutive World Cup downhill title by virtue of his second-place finish and Jansrud only managing an 11th-place, giving the Italian the globe by 23 points.

With the race kicked off at an early 9:30 am local time in hopes of beating the relentless spring sun, running with bib one was clearly an advantage for Paris as he held the lead at each interval throughout the race. A big man known for his incredible touch and smoothness on the world’s roughest courses, Paris made easy work of the challenging Aspen track and apart from a small bobble heading into the finish, never looked in doubt en route to his second win of the season. Fill also chose to run early with bib three and almost edged out his compatriot in the final turn before sliding into second, mere hundredths shy of the win. Janka, who ran with bib number 16, managed to charge through the quickly deteriorating conditions and punch in a podium performance, his second of the season.

ASPEN, USA - MARCH 15: Dominik Paris of Italy takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals Women's and Men's Downhill on March 15, 2017 in Aspen, USA (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)

APhoto by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom

Despite claiming his second Hahnenkamm title this January, Paris admitted to some late-season struggles and was delighted to end his downhill season on a high note.

“The last race wasn’t too easy for me. I was far behind the other guys, which actually probably motivated me for this race,” he said. “I knew it would be warm, and so I’m happy I made the decision to take number one. The snow only got softer. It was a great season, I ended up third in the standings. I had some bad races, but was happy to end well.”

Fill, who is the only Italian man to win the World Cup downhill title, managed to accomplish the feat for the second year in a row despite not winning a single downhill all season, proving that consistency is indeed king when it comes to the hunt for the crystal globe.

“It was hard,” Fill admitted after the race. “It was good skiing. Again, I was every time close on the victory. No victory this year in downhill, but in the end, I pick up the thing that counts and that’s the nicest thing. And today, a special day for the Italians with Dominik’s win and to have second and then, the globe. I think we have the best team — small team, but a good team. Thank you to the whole team. They work really well and they love, and they push us to go faster, and we see the results. So, thank you all the team, service guys, sponsors, thank you!”

ASPEN, USA - MARCH 15: Peter Fill of Italy wins the globe in the overall standings during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals Women's and Men's Downhill on March 15, 2017 in Aspen, USA (Photo by Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom)

Photo by Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom

Travis Ganong led the way for the two Americans in the field with a 17th-place finish. Ganong was flagged off the course due to a course worker falling on the track during his second training run on Tuesday and was unable to ski the bottom of the course at full speed, something he thinks factored into his result on Wednesday. Despite the disappointing result, Ganong spoke highly of the Aspen course and being able to finish off his season in the United States.

“Yesterday, I was flagged, so I was unable to ski the bottom section at full speed, it totally caught me off guard today, especially that big right footer before Norway Island,” Ganong explained. “I was way off the line, which especially down there is my bread and butter, so I was really bummed about that. Still super fun to be here skiing — very cool downhill. I think it should be a regular on the World Cup.” 

The only other American starter was newly minted World Junior Downhill Champion Sam Morse, who also made his World Cup debut in front of a home crowd and managed to finish in 21st place.

“It was pretty exciting!” said Morse. “Couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to have it. Starting early, home soil, racing with the best of the world. It’s my first World Cup, so obviously just here to get the experience. I actually had some fast splits yesterday and was definitely excited to not only experience the event, but also to compete. Today, I gave it all I had, so two seconds off the best in the world is fine by me. Racing a World Cup wasn’t really a goal for me this season honestly. It was awesome to get a taste for what’s hopefully coming.”

The men and women now race super-G in Aspen on Thursday, March 16.

Check out our gallery from today’s race here.

Fans can stay up to date on World Cup by  downloading the U.S. Ski Team – Ski Racing app for iOS and Android.


Top 10

1. Dominik Paris (ITA) – Nordica/Nordica/Marker
2. Peter Fill (ITA) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3. Carlo Janka (SUI) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
4. Manuel Osborne-Paradis (CAN) – Head/Head/Head
5. Adrien Theaux (FRA) – Head/Head/Head
6. Erik Guay (CAN) – Head/Head/Head
6. Andreas Sander (GER) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8. Mattias Mayer (AUT) – Head/Head/Head
9.Vincent Kreichmayr (AUT) – Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
10. Johan Clarey (FRA) – Head/Head/Head


Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff. FIS Points WC Points
 1  1  291459 PARIS Dominik 1989 ITA  1:33.07  0.00  100.00
 2  3  292455 FILL Peter 1982 ITA  1:33.15  +0.08  1.07  80.00
 3  16  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:33.25  +0.18  2.42  60.00
 4  20  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel 1984 CAN  1:33.32  +0.25  3.36  50.00
 5  19  192746 THEAUX Adrien 1984 FRA  1:33.36  +0.29  3.89  45.00
 6  13  102263 GUAY Erik 1981 CAN  1:33.38  +0.31  4.16  40.00
 6  2  200379 SANDER Andreas 1989 GER  1:33.38  +0.31  4.16  40.00
 8  17  53902 MAYER Matthias 1990 AUT  1:33.39  +0.32  4.30  32.00
 9  4  53980 KRIECHMAYR Vincent 1991 AUT  1:33.59  +0.52  6.98  29.00
 10  8  191740 CLAREY Johan 1981 FRA  1:33.60  +0.53  7.12  26.00
 11  5  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR  1:33.61  +0.54  7.25  24.00
 12  10  422139 KILDE Aleksander Aamodt 1992 NOR  1:33.77  +0.70  9.40  22.00
 13  9  511383 FEUZ Beat 1987 SUI  1:33.78  +0.71  9.54  20.00
 14  6  192932 FAYED Guillermo 1985 FRA  1:33.91  +0.84  11.28  18.00
 15  12  511139 KUENG Patrick 1984 SUI  1:34.02  +0.95  12.76  16.00
 16  22  202535 DRESSEN Thomas 1993 GER  1:34.09  +1.02  13.70
 17  15  530874 GANONG Travis 1988 USA  1:34.37  +1.30  17.46
 18  7  50742 REICHELT Hannes 1980 AUT  1:34.56  +1.49  20.01
 19  18  53817 FRANZ Max 1989 AUT  1:34.59  +1.52  20.41
 19  14  51215 BAUMANN Romed 1986 AUT  1:34.59  +1.52  20.41
 21  23  6531520 MORSE Sam 1996 USA  1:35.21  +2.14  28.74
Did not finish 1st run
 21  511513 CAVIEZEL Mauro 1988 SUI
 11  561216 KLINE Bostjan 1991 SLO

 

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About the Author: Sean Higgins

A Lake Tahoe native and University of Vermont graduate, Higgins was a member of the Catamounts' 2012 NCAA title winning squad and earned first team All-American honors in 2013. Prior to coming to Ski Racing Media, he coached U14s for the Squaw Valley Ski Team.