Nyman Leads Three into the Top 15 in Kvitfjell Downhill

On a near-perfect and fast track at a Norwegian venue that feels like home, Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) led three Americans into the top 15 and four into the top 24 at the FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway. 

When Swiss Beat Feuz came down, it didn't appear anyone could best his time of 1:45.99, but then Italian Dominik Paris skied blazing fast on the bottom portion of the course and proved otherwise, crossing the line in 1:45.74 - .25 seconds ahead of Feuz. Austria's Matthias Mayer rounded out the podium in third, .37 seconds off Paris' pace. Feuz currently leads the downhill standings over Paris by 80 points with just one race to go in Soldeu, Andorra at World Cup Finals. 

The downhillers have had a complicated last few weeks, with Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany canceled, and the World Championships downhill at Åre, Sweden shortened considerably due to weather. Though he has not skied much downhill since his crash in Wengen, veteran Nyman walked away happy with the team's overall result in Kvitfjell, which featured Jared Goldberg's (Holladay, Utah) best result of the season, and a tie on his career-best result in ninth (tying his ninth place in Val Gardena, Italy in 2017). Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) grabbed another career best venue result, with 12th, showing continued consistency and moving him up to sixth overall in the season's downhill standings. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) also put down a solid finish, with 24th place. 

"Happy with my day. It’s a big improvement from my training run (which was 35th place)," Nyman said. "I haven’t been on downhill skis much since my crash in Wengen, so to ski with conviction took a lot of focus and grit. My comfort level isn’t that high right now, so I’m proud of my performance all things considered. I’m also proud of Jared for pulling out a good performance; he really needed that! And, of course, Bryce - being in the top 15 once again proves his consistency." 

It's been a challenging season for Goldberg, who - prior to Kvitfjell - had not finished better than 28th (in Bormio, Italy) this season, and had only scored twice (including 30th place in Wengen, Switzerland). A trip home to Utah to rest and recharge, where he was able to get some laps in the freshies on his home mountain, Snowbird, and see his dog Melvin - as well as making some adjustments with his equipment - was just what Goldberg needed to turn things around. He was the ninth-fastest in Friday's one and only training run, and he was able to match that, 1.25 seconds out, in Saturday's race. 

"It's been a struggle of a season trying to find the right feeling to push hard and look for speed," reflected Goldberg. "After a long Europe trip and canceled races, I needed some time at home to recoup and reflect on what I do and why I do it, and it paid off." 

Other Americans to compete in Saturday's downhill included Sam Morse (Sugarloaf, Maine) in 45th, Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) who took some big risks and made a large mistake but still finished in 49th, Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) in 51st and Thomas Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) who did not finish. 

Up next for the men's speed team is a super-G at Kvitfjell on Sunday. 

Women's Super-G Canceled in Sochi; Shiffrin Locks in Third-Straight Overall

For the fourth-straight day, weather wiped out the women's FIS Ski World Cup in Sochi, Russia. 

The downhill that was originally scheduled for Saturday will not be rescheduled. The FIS Ski World Cup super-G in St. Anton, Austria, that was canceled, rescheduled in Sochi, and canceled again will not be rescheduled. The women are scheduled to compete in a super-G Sunday in Sochi. Due to today's cancelation, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) has locked in her third-straight career overall title, along with her sixth slalom title, which she locked in after the Stockholm City Event. 

RESULTS
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, March 3
1:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Kvitfjell, NOR - NBCSN**
2:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G  - Sochi, RUS - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Men’s super-G - Kvitfjell, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G  - Sochi, RUS - NBCSN*

Friday, March 8
4:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1 - Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2 - Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2 - Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE - NBCSN*

Saturday, March 9
3:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1 - Kranjska Gora, SLO  - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1 - Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2 - Kranjska Gora, SLO  - Olympic Channel-TV, Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2 - Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, March 10
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Kranjska Gora, SLO  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Kranjska Gora, SLO  - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.