Bennett Podiums Again in Val Gardena
On Saturday’s second downhill of the weekend in Val Gardena, Italy, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Bryce Bennett followed up his Thursday victory with a third place.
Bennett proved that his downhill skillset is going to be a competitive force on the circuit this season. He not only secured his third career World Cup podium, but he is also tied for the downhill overall standings alongside last season’s previous Crystal Globe winner, Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, with 160 points.
“Today felt better than Thursday’s win,” said Bennett. “It was a lot to come off a win with the red bib. I’ve never been in that position where you ski well and then you have another opportunity the same week.”
Bennett saw the opportunity and seized it. It was once again another gorgeous day in Val Gardena for the downhill. The sun was shining through the beautiful Italian dolomites and the men’s downhill team was ready to bring it all on the hill.
Out of the gate, Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde took the lead. But Italian dark horse Dominik Paris had a near-perfect run in his home country, taking a dominant lead over Kilde by 0.44 seconds.
All eyes were on Bennett who ran bib 18. He skied strong with minimal mistakes gaining speed toward the middle of the run to punch the line into third place, 0.60 seconds back from the pace. The time held through the remainder of the racers to secure his second podium of the season and his third World Cup podium of his career.
“This has been the most fun ski race weekend I’ve ever had,” said Bennett.
The rest of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team also showed strong results. Jared Goldberg skied extremely fast on the top half of the course with top splits and top speeds. But with a few mistakes in the middle Goldberg settled for an 11th place result, just ahead of his teammate Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 13th.
“I feel good about today because I did not feel super relaxed coming into the day,” said Goldberg. “I am looking for consistency and will bring this heat into the other races.”
Finally, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Kyle Negomir skied a strong line to score a 30th place position, snagging a downhill World Cup point. But it was not without its theatrics, he caught an edge just before the finish line and crashed through the finish. He was okay and walked away with a World Cup result.
Sam Morse also raced, he took 41st place. Sam DuPratt did not finish.
The speed men will now take this solid opening speed event and prepare for the Bormio World Cup Dec. 28-29.
RESULTS
Men's downhill
