Men's downhill in Val Gardena: Will Marco Odermatt achieve his 40th World Cup victory?

12:31 p.m

The French have not been able to get up to speed in Val Gardena so far – with the exception of Nils Allegre. And Muzaton also loses time in every sector, ending up almost two seconds behind.

12:29 p.m

Attention, the winner of yesterday's Super-G is now on the move. At the top it's the Italian's turn to Odermatt. But he also loses time at the Ciaslat; he had to take the long line when entering. Only intermediate rank 7, Casse discards his hands.

12:27 p.m

Another local hero is on the way. He came second last year in Kitzbühel. But he can't shine on the Saslong today. Schieder loses 1.72 seconds on Odermatt.

12:23 p.m

Yesterday, Marco Odermatt's biggest rival was eliminated from the Super-G. And today? Sarrazin is already losing a lot of time at the top on Odermatt, and because he mastered the Ciaslat so well, he cannot make up for this deficit. Sarrazin loses a second on Odermatt – intermediate place 8.

12:19 p.m

Now comes the overall World Cup winner. Odermatt keeps up with von Allmen at the top. He masters the Ciaslat very well, this is his passage, technically demanding. And that is the new best time: four tenths ahead for the man from Nidwalden!

12:17 p.m

The Canadian is driving strong, but he can't quite get close to von Allmen either.

12:15 p.m

Another American. Four years ago he came second in the Val Gardena downhill. He can keep up with von Allmen at the top, but because he twists when entering the flat section, he is half a second behind. Then it becomes extremely tight. Cochran-Siegle is a single hundredth of a second behind von Allmen at the finish. The Bernese Oberlander shakes his head in disbelief.

12:12 p.m

Attention, the first American is on the way. And we know: The US ski team feels very comfortable in Val Gardena. By the Ciaslat he was already eight tenths behind. Then Bennett catches up – and how: in the end he is only 16 hundredths behind von Allmen, in intermediate place 3.

12:09 p.m

The Austrian won last year on the shortened descent. Today there is a moment of shock after a jump, but Kriechmayr is just able to save himself. According to SRF expert Beat Feuz, Kriechmayr is said to be suffering from an eye infection. Is that the reason for his modest appearance? Kriechmayr loses almost two seconds to von Allmen.

12:07 p.m

Last year's winner is on the way. He is a gifted glider – but can't keep up with von Allmen at the top. At the finish, Paris politely waves to the spectators, but he can't climb onto the podium today. Seven tenths behind – intermediate place 4.

12:04 p.m

The first two Frenchmen were eliminated or had a very difficult time. And Allegre? The above also shows with him: You can't drive it much better than von Allmen. But in the Ciaslat he also drives very well, gaining seven tenths on von Allmen. But ultimately he is two hundredths short of the Bernese Oberland.

12:01 p.m

At the start of the season he caused a thunderclap with his first ever World Cup victory on the Beaver Creek descent. Yesterday in the Super-G Murisier had a hard time. At the top, Murisier cannot keep up with his colleague von Allmen in the gliding passages, but he masters the Ciaslat very well. Ultimately, we are eight tenths behind von Allmen – intermediate third place.

11:58 a.m

The first Canadian is on the way. But he can't get close to von Allmen either, 1.77 seconds behind – intermediate place 4.

11:57 am

And the next Swiss: Alexis Monney. However, the man from Freiburg is much more rounded at the top than Allmen's colleague, which puts him behind. He loses almost a second to von Allmen, intermediate place 3.

11:54 am

The first Swiss is on the way. At the top he can exploit his gliding qualities and gains a lead of almost nine tenths. In the Ciaslat he loses a lot of time compared to leader Hrobat – but that still gives the Bernese Oberlander the lead.

11:52 a.m

The Frenchman is in form: 9th place in the Super-G yesterday, and 7th place in Beaver Creek. But in the Ciaslat he also has a lot of rumbling over the waves – Giezendanner is eliminated.

11:49 a.m

It's about to continue. Matthieu Bailet throws himself down the Saslong. The Frenchman struggles and ends up in fresh snow after a turn, which costs a huge amount of time. He receives the receipt at the finish: 2.29 seconds behind.

11:48 a.m

The race is on! Miha Hrobat has just reached the goal. The Slovenian needed 2:04 minutes for the descent. Soon we will see how much value this time has.

11:47 am

By the way, the last Swiss victory in Val Gardena dates back to December 18, 2010 – Silvan Zurbriggen was successful. If Marco Odermatt succeeds today, he would be on a par with Pirmin Zurbriggen, who triumphed 40 times in the World Cup.

11:45 a.m

The descent from Val Gardena is special. There is the crux of Ciaslat, or the legendary camel humps. Not everyone likes this area, Marco Odermatt, for example, feels more comfortable elsewhere. The overall World Cup winner has never been able to win in Val Gardena. But he is still a force to be reckoned with today.

Of course you have to take the Americans into account, they love Val Gardena! Goldberg proved this yesterday in the Super-G, as did Bryce Bennett, who triumphed in the downhill here in 2021 and 2023. A year ago, Dominik Paris was able to celebrate the home win. He is definitely one of the favorites today.