Bennett Snags 12th in Saalbach Downhill
On a sunny day in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Bryce Bennett was the fastest man on the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, finishing in 12th place in Saturday's downhill.
Thomas Dressen of Germany—who grew up going to school just 30 minutes away from Saalbach—snagged his second FIS Ski World Cup downhill win in a row with a flawless run, highlighting his gliding ability down the winding course. The Swiss men stacked it in behind Thomas, taking second, third, fourth and fifth place. Beat Feuz was second, stepping on the podium for the seventh time this season and maintaining his hold of the downhill leader bib, and Mauro Caviezel third.
Bryce, who was fast at the top but made a few small mistakes, was still happy about his finish and the overall course conditions, which were unpredictable during training. “I think I made a little mistake entering [the middle] section and then I thought I skied the rest of it really well, which I was psyched on,” said Bryce. “I had a little bobble down bottom, and that’s just how it goes sometimes. The snow is a little inconsistent, but it’s pretty impressive how much the course conditions turned around from yesterday to today. They busted some serious butt last night to make this race happen, which is cool.”
Bryce, who didn’t have a great finish in the Garmisch downhill, said his improvement was due to some good training in between the races and a few tweaks to his equipment. But while he’s pleased with his progress, he’s still looking for that elusive spot in the top three this season. “I’m just trying to hopefully get on the podium,” said Bryce. “I think that’s the goal at the end of the season. Just keep pushing and stay focused.”
Travis Ganong—who finished fifth in Garmisch, the best downhill result from a U.S. male skier this season—was 15th. Also skiing into the points, Steven Nyman took 21st place and Jared Goldberg tied for 30th. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was just outside of the points in 32nd and Sam Morse 43rd.
The men race super-G on Friday, with World Cup fans hoping for good weather. The Saalbach races are a replacement for the previously scheduled Beijing Olympic test events in Yanqing, China.
RESULTS
Downhill
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Feb. 14
5:00 a.m. - Men’s super-G, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
6:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - NBCSN*
*Same-day broadcast
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app.
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
