BORMIO, Italy — Norway’s Fredrik Moeller earned his first World Cup victory by winning a super-G that got off to an inauspicious start Sunday as Gino Caviezel became the third skier this weekend to be airlifted out of of the track intended for use for the 2026 Olympic Games.
Following Alexis Monney’s first World Cup victory in downhill the day before, Moeller also recorded his first victory on the circuit with a benchmark first descent on the fearsome Stelvio slope to finish 0.20 seconds ahead of Austrian skier Vincent Kriechmayr.
Monney, who was 27th at the start, threatened to knock Moeller out of the lead after the Swiss skier recovered from a poor start, but finished third, just four-hundredths of a second behind Kriechmayr — to the obvious relief of Moeller.
Like Monney, Moeller had never even been on the podium before this weekend. His previous best result was fourth place.
But the young people clearly appreciated the Stelvio, where the men’s alpine skiing events will take place in 14 months at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.
Money and Moeller are both 24 years old.
Moeller’s teammate Marco Odermatt leaves Bormio without a podium this weekend. As in the downhill, the three-time overall champion finished fifth, sandwiched between two other Swiss teammates, Stefan Rogentin and Franjo von Allmen.
From left, Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr, second, Norwegian winner Fredrik Moeller and Switzerland’s Alexis Monney, third, celebrate after a World Cup men’s Super G alpine ski race in Bormio, Italy, on Sunday December 29, 2024. Credit: AP/Marco Trovati
It was, however, a miserable day for his compatriot Gino Caviezel.
The 32-year-old was the first through the gates, but he crashed early and was taken to hospital by helicopter.
Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin and Italian Pietro Zazzi were also evacuated from the track by helicopter after crashing in separate incidents during downhill training on Friday.
Sarrazin underwent surgery to drain bleeding near the brain while Zazzi had surgery on his leg.
Norwegian Fredrik Moeller races down the course at high speed during an alpine ski race, Men’s Super G of the World Cup, in Bormio, Italy, Sunday, December 29, 2024. Credit: AP/Gabriele Facciotti
Odermatt still leads the super-G standings but saw his advantage reduced to just five points by Moeller. He leads the general classification with 161 points.
