Bennett Sixth at Stifel Birds of Prey
It was an exciting first day of racing of a two-weekend long Stifel Birds of Prey series at Beaver Creek Resort, Colorado. Bryce Bennett was the top American in the men’s downhill, finishing in sixth place. Ryan Cochran-Siegle also punched it into the top 15, finishing 12th.
"I've been skiing really well all summer long and I had some good training runs so I felt confident on my skis," said Bennett.
The podium was not what many had predicted. After a previous season of Odermatt vs. Sarrazin in downhill, it was the unassuming Swiss Justin Murisier who claimed the top spot and his first ever World Cup win. His teammate Marco Odermatt landed in second and Miha Hrobat of Slovenia took third for his first World Cup podium.
It was also a strong start for Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle. He had a large mistake and still managed a top-15 result - a testament to the hard work the men's speed team put in this summer.
"Our places were good for sure," said Cochran-Siegle. "It's awesome seeing Bryce ski so well right now. He is locked in, and our team as a whole has been executing the training runs really well."
Under classic Colorado blue skies, the day proved dramatic, seeing a number of crashes on the terrain-ladened course that caused long course holds. Sam DuPratt was one of the men who went into the net and down in a sled. His injuries are still being evaluated.
The result marked yet another top 10 for Bennett, who continues to show his strength in downhill. With four top 10s last season and two podiums—including his first career win—the 6’ 7” speed skier was pleased with the result of the season-opening downhill. It's been an exciting week for the speed skier; his wife also announced her pregnancy... and her due date: March 22, the day of the World Cup Finals downhill.
"One of my goals after last season was to keep skiing and being competitive and so it was great to have this result to reinforce that feeling," said Bennett.
Sam Morse also found the top 30, finishing 21st. Erik Arvidsson was 34th, Jared Goldberg 39th, Kyle Negomir 45th and Wiley Maple 52nd.
Next up, the men race super-G on Saturday and a giant slalom Sunday. The women race the Stifel Birds of Prey the following weekend.
"Beaver Creek super-G is a very challenging course so I just need to keep doing what I am doing and trying to have fun with it," said Cochran-Siegle.
RESULTS
Men’s downhill
HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, 12/7
12:30 p.m. ET - super-G - LIVE on Outside TV
5:00 p.m. ET - super-G - tape delay on NBC/Peacock
Sunday, 12/8
12:00 p.m. ET - giant slalom, run 1 - LIVE on Outside TV
3:00 p.m. ET - giant slalom, run 2 - LIVE on Outside TV
Saturday, 12/14
5:00 p.m. ET - giant slalom - tape delay on NBC/Peacock
All races available on-demand on Outside+.
