By Canadian Press

World champion Franjo Von Allmen edges Marco Odermatt in Swiss podium sweep of World Cup downhill

Feb 22, 2025 | 12:02 PM

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — World champion Franjo von Allmen led a Swiss sweep on home snow Saturday at the first World Cup downhill since winning his first career gold medal two weeks ago.

Von Allmen rode out a late scare getting unbalanced after landing the final jump to finish 0.13 seconds ahead of team leader Marco Odermatt. Alexis Monney, the worlds bronze medalist, was again third trailing Von Allmen by 0.42.

Toronto’s James Crawford was the top Canadian, finishing 0.84 seconds back of von Allmen for sixth place.

“Today’s result is a little bittersweet,” Crawford said. “I thought I skied well enough to be closer to the top guys, but it was a super solid day and I’m quite happy with the skiing today.”

Brodie Seger of North Vancouver, B.C., finished 40th and Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta., did not finish after missing a gate.

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The stellar Swiss speed team has won five of the six World Cup downhills this season and placed runner-up in all six. The result was unofficial with low-ranked racers yet to start.

Switzerland threatens an era of downhill domination ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics. Odermatt is the oldest at 27 in an event where many racers typically peak in their 30s.

The Swiss trio also showed mastery of the Nationale course at Crans-Montana which will host the next world championships in 2027.

Von Allmen and Monney are having thrilling breakout seasons to back up Odermatt’s drive toward a fourth straight overall World Cup title.

Odermatt earned 80 World Cup points to extend his lead in the overall standings to 400 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen, who does not race in speed events.

With two World Cup downhill wins this season, Odermatt also leads the discipline standings by 73 from Von Allmen, who was runner-up in three races. Von Allmen’s first career World Cup win was in a super-G last month, also in Switzerland at Wengen.

Sunshine broke through the clouds on a 1 Celsius (34 degrees) day as Monney started wearing bib No. 6 to give him a clearer view of the course contours ahead. He posted the fastest time racing to the finish line next to the chalet where the late James Bond actor Roger Moore lived.

The No. 2 starter Florian Schieder clocked the fastest speed just over 126 kph (78 mph) along the 3.6-kilometer (2¼- mile) course.

A super-G race is scheduled Sunday, the first since Odermatt won the world title Feb. 7 in Saalbach, Austria.

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https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

The Associated Press