Bennett Takes Another Top Result at Kitzbuehel Downhill
In the most challenging and famous FIS World Cup on the circuit, Bryce Bennett grabbed a solid eighth-place result in the Kitzbuehel downhill.
Thrilling the raucous Hahnenkamm crowd, the Austrian men went 1-2 with Matthias Mayer winning and Vincent Kriechmayr taking second. Beat Feuz of Switzerland tied Vincent for second. It was Matthias' second win in Kitzbuehel, having won the super-G in 2017, and became the eighth man to win the speed double at the venue.
Bryce, who has shown strength over the years, had a tough beginning to the 2019-20 season but turned it around in Wengen, Switzerland, the week before Kitzbuehel with a seventh-place finish in the Lauberhorn downhill. Having finished 14th last season at Kitzbuehel, the top-10 result is Bryce's best career result on the Hahnenkamm. The result gave him the confidence he needed, and with unusually aggressive and grippy snow on the Streif track, he put it all on the hill.
“I just had my plan and I was set on committing to it,” said Bryce, who previously had a career-best downhill venue result of 14th at Kitzbuehel last season. “It was a cool feeling—I haven’t quite experienced that at Kitzbuehel. I fully committed to it and it felt like I had a pretty solid ride. I was excited.”
In Friday night's bib draw, Bryce wore jorts (jean shorts) and a jean vest, with an American flag as a cape. He walked out on stage and the crowd of thousands roared. Then, he boldly chose bib one over bib 19. The fans loved it. Bryce ran bullet in the downhill and getting to open up the storied event and sit in the leader's box for a good chunk of time was a cool experience. But next year, he wants to stay in the leader's chair and win it all. “I’m excited because I left everything on the hill and don’t have any regrets,” he said. “I’m bummed, but I learned a lot and I’m excited to try and win this thing.”
Steven Nyman also put down a solid run, despite making a big mistake, taking 13th. He was in the green on the top section of the course and leading at the fourth split before making a costly mistake. In the finish, he let out his frustration with a yell when he realized he was within striking distance of his first Kitzbuehel podium—and quite possibly win. Jared Goldberg and Travis Ganong finished in the points in 23rd and 30th, respectively. Sam Morse was 41st in his Kitzbuehel debut, holding his hands up and making a moose—his nickname—sign at the TV camera in the finish. Ryan Cochran-Siegle DNFed, but is OK and skied down to the finish.
The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team slalom team gears up for Sunday’s slalom race in Kitzbuehel with Luke Winters leading the way for the Americans.
RESULTS
Men’s Downhill
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Sunday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-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.
Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com.
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Daron Rahlves, who has won on the Hahnenkamm twice—downhill in 2003, and again in super-G in 2004—poses with Bryce Bennett in the leaderboard after Bryce's run.
