Is Monney Odermatt now stealing a record?

Win the Lauberhorn downhill run three times in one year. Sounds strange, but fans, experts and media expect nothing less than that from Marco Odermatt. And probably a bit of himself too. In 2024, two races took place on the longest and most beautiful descent in the world, and Odermatt was the big dominator twice. And that’s what he is again this year: No Kilde there, no Sarrazin – who will beat the Central Swiss on the way to his third victory in Wengen and thus into the Lauberhorn Olympus alongside the previous record winners Beat Feuz and Franz Klemm?

You don’t even have to leave the Swiss team hotel in Wengen to look for potential candidates. Logical: The first four places in the Downhill World Cup are taken by Swiss. All three downhill runs this season were won by a Swiss Ski athlete, and each time a fellow countryman came in second. An unprecedented series.

And yes, for once neither the winner nor the runner-up is named Marco Odermatt. This happened in the old year week in Bormio, where Franjo von Allmen is still in the lead after Odermatt’s ride and is secretly expecting his first World Cup victory in the leader box, before Alexis Monney follows with start number 19. And how! With an incredible run on what is for many the most difficult slopes and particularly demanding this season, the Freiburg resident races to first place. But that’s not all: the next day Monney comes third in the Super-G.

Monney fulfilled a promise in Bormio

That was almost three weeks ago. Now Monney has traveled to Wengen. No longer in the shadow of the stars. But as a winning driver who arouses interest, but doesn’t like exactly that. There is a nervous hustle and bustle in the hotel when it is Monney’s turn at the Swiss media event directly after Odermatt. Right at the beginning, the 25-year-old is asked how he feels about the new hype surrounding him. Monney puts his elbows on the table and says in a quiet voice: “I don’t like it that much, but I’ll have to get used to it.”

For better or worse. Because according to his former and current coaches, the weekend in Bormio was just the beginning. In his younger years, Monney was considered the greatest downhill talent in this country; Swiss Ski CEO Walter Reusser announced three years ago that Monney’s first World Cup victory was only a matter of time. The Junior World Champion (2020) from Châtel St. Denis combines power and clean driving. After the victory in Bormio, Odermatt praised: “Alexis looked like she was on rails.”

The hype is one thing. The increased external expectations of a winning driver are another matter. How to deal with it? Monney smiling: “My main goal is to continue to have fun. I know that I have the skills and technique for the top places.” He doesn’t put himself under any pressure to confirm Bormio’s success as quickly as possible. “No one can take away what I have achieved. They say that appetite comes with food. It would be nice to experience these feelings again – but as I said: having fun is the most important thing.”

Harmonious cooperation with the father

At least from the outside, Monney is not unsettled by the events in Bormio. True to what others say about him: calm, professional, humble. His answer to the question about which congratulation he was most happy about also fits in with this: “It came from my father.”

Louis Monney was once a talent himself, but only made it to Swiss Ski as a trainer and worked there with the Didiers Cuche and Défago. As a teenager, Monney struggled to accept suggestions for improvement from his father. The relationship now also seems harmonious on a professional level: “My father got me into skiing. In difficult phases he sends me videos and we analyze together. He knows exactly what makes me tick as a driver.” Quite obviously: the collaboration between father and son is fruitful. Also on Saturday on the legendary Lauberhorn descent?