Confirming the promises of his start to the season, the Swiss Franjo von Allmen opened his World Cup record on Friday by winning the super-G in Wengen, a new demonstration of the crazy Swiss density in speed.
Bib N.3, the 23-year-old colossus completed the Lauberhorn route in 1 min 47 sec 65, a legendary track overlooked by the Eiger under a cloudless sky, with a 10/100th lead over the Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, 2021 world champion in the specialty.
Acclaimed by 27,500 spectators, the native of the country, born not far from the Lauterbrunnen valley, shares the podium with one of his teammates, Stefan Rogentin, third at 58/100th.
“It was a solid race without any major faults,” commented von Allmen, speaking to RTS. I wasn’t sure of myself, but it was a good mix today and everything worked well. »
Second in December in the descents of Val Gardena and Bormio, Von Allmen offers Switzerland its fifth success in seven sprint races this season in the Men’s World Cup, with all three descents contested and two of the four super-Gs.
This domination is also based on four different winners – Justin Murisier, world No. 1 Marco Odermatt, Alexis Monney and now Franjo von Allmen -, a reflection of an unparalleled collective strength.
The Swiss Franjo Von Allmen, future winner, during the super-G in Wengen, January 17, 2025 / FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
In which other team would a poor performance from Marco Odermatt go unnoticed? Seventh at 1 sec 04, the three-time winner of the big crystal globe had never finished higher than 4th place in eight appearances in Wengen (seven podiums including three victories), and had not been out of the Top 5 since March 2022 in super-G.
“2-3 small mistakes” for Odermatt, 7th
« Odi »who conceded “two-three small mistakes”nevertheless retains the lead in the specialty ranking, with 19 points ahead of Vincent Kriechmayr, with three of his compatriots in the first seven.
He remains clearly at the head of the general classification, 192 points ahead of the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen who is not competing in the speed events, and will be able to restart on Saturday in the descent of Wengen, where he won twice last year. .
-Welcoming von Allmen’s victory, Odermatt recalled that the Bernese was always very fast: “If he doesn’t make mistakes, he can win every race”estimated the Nidwalden crack, happy “not always being in the light”.
Friday morning, one of the coaches of the Swiss speed team, Valentin Crettaz, even explained to RTS that he had wondered “all summer and this fall”seeing his descenders “so close in training”.
“Once it was one who won the rounds, once it was another. We asked ourselves the question of whether we were bad, average or if things were going well. And I think that here, we can really say that we took the right train”he said.
The French skiers performed less well, with only Nils Allègre finishing in the Top 20 (20th at 1 sec 92).
Swiss champion Marco Odermatt at the finish of the Wengen super-G, January 17, 2025 / Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
But they returned to competition after the terrible Italian stage in Bormio at the end of December, during which their leader Cyprien Sarrazin – winner last year of the super-G in Wengen and second in the two descents – seriously injured his head in a fall. in training.
“We think about ourselves, but above all we think about +Cyp+”confided Allègre on Wednesday.
Operated at the end of December to drain an intracranial hematoma, Sarrazin, world No.2 in downhill last year, was transferred last week for rehabilitation in Lyon (eastern France).
