Cochran-Siegle, Bennett Top 10 on Lauberhornrennen
On Saturday’s classic Lauberhornrennen men’s downhill in Wengen, Switzerland, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle scored a ninth place finish with Bryce Bennett close behind in 10th.
“It is a tough hill to ski with so many different components so you will never have a perfect run but I am happy with it,” said Cochran-Siegle, who won an Olympic silver medal in super-G in 2022.
Saturday’s downhill is the marquee event for Swiss fans with well over 50,000 people in attendance on the sides of the hill. The weather could not have been more perfect either, no wind, no clouds - just sunshine. The speed skiers were coming off of an unusually tiring few days of racing with the added downhill Thursday, two training runs and a super-G on one of the longest tracks on tour. Regardless, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men persevered and ended up with four in the top 25.
One of the more tense moments came a few racers after Bennett when Norwegian powerhouse Aleksander Kilde crashed just before the finish line. There was a lengthy course hold as Kilde was taken in a helicopter out to address his injuries.
“That course hold after Kilde went down was tough. I think that’s always hard when you are standing at the start but I feel like I still went out there and tried to execute and focus on the skiing,” said Cochran-Siegle.
But the star of the weekend was Swiss skier Marrco Odermatt who at first came into the downhill lead by over three seconds, a gap that is almost unheard of in the sport. Odermatt won the first downhill on Thursday and was second in the super-G.
“When you come down and Marco Odermatt kills you by three seconds it's crazy,” said Bennett.
The only other skier who could come close was Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin in second, who was 0.59 seconds out from Odermatt’s near perfect run. Third place was Italian skier Dominik Paris, still 1.92 seconds off the pace.
Stifel U.S. Ski Team skiers Jared Goldberg landed in 16th place and Sam Morse in 25th to help produce a strong team result for the speed men. Kyle Negomir landed in 40th position. Wiley Maple did not finish but he is okay.
“It was a very heavy race weekend but to have 50,000 people watch it is cool and it was a solid run,” said Bennett.
The schedule does not let up for the men as they prepare for the downhill of all downhills, the Hahnenkammrennen in Kitzbühel, Austria Jan. 19 and 20.
“It is a cool combination coming from Wengen into Kitzbühel so I am excited to ski it,” said Cochran-Segle.
“I am feeling good for Kitzbühel and our whole team is skiing well. We have competitive runs there always so I am fired up,” added Bennett.
The slalom men take the stage on Sunday in Wengen with the first run going off at 4:15 a.m. ET on skiandsnowboard.live.
RESULTS
Men's downhill
HOW TO WATCH
4:15 a.m. - men's slalom, run 1, Wengen, Switzerland - skiandsnowboard.live
7:14 a.m. - men's slalom, run 2, Wengen, Switzerland - skiandsnowboard.live
