Three in Top 10 in Kvitfjell
On the final downhill in the regular World Cup season, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men’s speed crew dominated the race with a top-tier team result led by Bryce Bennett’s fourth place finish, just off the podium. Teammates Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Sam Morse were close behind in seventh and 10th place, Morse’s top result of the season.
“Super stoked with how the day went for myself and the whole team,” said Morse. “The track was in such good shape they did a really good job getting all the snow off from the day.”
The conditions were good on Saturday after snow had been adequately pushed from the training run the day prior. The sun was shining and the speed men knew what to do. First Cochran-Siegle raced down into fourth place position, running right before Bennett. Bennett, currently riding one of his best downhill seasons to date, knifed the course, in the green the majority of the way, falling short of a podium by 0.10 seconds. He settled for fourth place, his third best result of the season.
“I’m happy with today’s skiing, where my focus was during my run and getting the end result,” said Cochran-Siegle. “There’s always some time to be had or turns you wish you’d skied a little better that can be the difference between a good solid day like today and an amazing day, but that’s ski racing.”
The excitement for the men’s team did not stop and their confidence was shown through the rest of the skiers. Morse came down into seventh place eventually moving into 10th for the day.
“Starting my first race in the top 30 you feel the pressure to stay there, so to have it all come together meant a lot,” said Morse.
Jared Goldberg sped down for a top 20 result in 17th. Kyle Negomir landed his best World Cup result to date in 19th, tied with fellow American Wiley Maple. That marked six U.S. men in the top 20 for the last downhill of the regular season. The winner of the race was Swiss skier Niels Hintermann, second place went to Austrian Vincent Kreichmayr and third place to Canadian Cameron Alexander.
“Really proud to be a part of this team after such an incredible performance from every one of us," said Cochran-Siegle. "I'm looking forward to racing tomorrow on such a fun track."
The next and final downhill will be the World Cup finals in Saalbach, Austria in March. The top 25 athletes by ranking in each discipline will compete.
The men have another chance at the track for a super-G on Sunday. The race will be streamed and on demand on skiandsnowboard.live at 6 a.m. ET.
RESULTS
Men's downhill
