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Franjo von Almen beat his friend Marco Odermatt to victory at the Downhill World Cup on Saturday in the latest 1-2 finish between the Swiss rivals, whose duels marked the pinnacle of men's skiing in the Cortina Olympics season in Milan.
Von Allmen finished 0.30 seconds ahead of Odermatt as both stars drove aggressively and boldly on the bumpy and tiring Saslong circuit in Val Gardena, Italy.
It was the sixth time they had finished 1-2 together in the 10 World Cup downhills since the Val Gardena race a year ago, including Thursday when Odermatt won the shortened race.
“It’s great that I can share the podium with Marco again. Sometimes me, sometimes him,” which wins, von Allmen said.
No other rider came close on Saturday, when Odermatt posted the fastest speed of around 127 km/h. Only Italy's Florian Schieder, in third, was also a second behind von Almen, 0.98 behind at 3.45km.
Toronto's Jack Crawford was the top Canadian finisher, finishing the day in 27th place.
James Crawford's time of 2:00.86 was good enough to finish in twenty-seventh place on Saturday at the FIS Downhill World Cup in Val Gardena, Italy.
Von Allmen, 24, has three World Cup downhill victories to his name, with Odermatt finishing second each time.
“It was fair that he could win today and I'm also happy with second place,” said Odermatt, who was also second in Friday's super-G.
Each also won a gold medal in downhill at the biennial world championships held after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and their rivalry could be the main event on Feb. 7 at the next Winter Games.
The men's alpine skiing event at the Olympics takes place in Bormio, where another Swiss rider, Alexis Monny, won the downhill World Cup last December and von Allmen was second.
Monney and Ryan Cochran-Siegle of the United States crashed on Saturday due to rolling bumps and jumps, while James Crawford made an impressive save to land a jump.
Von Allmen and Odermatt were at the limit at times on the third day of racing in a row when former overall World Cup champion Alexander Aamodt Kilde missed the start. Kilde returns after a break of almost two years, recovering from a terrible accident in Wengen in January 2024.
Odermatt extended his lead in the overall World Cup standings for the entire season with a fifth straight title, while von Allmen closed the gap in the downhill race.
There was no repeat of Friday's stunning result in the hill super-G, where more sunshine on the track after 12.30pm gives late starters a chance.
Super-G winner Jan Zabistran – the first Czech to win the race in 60 World Cup seasons, denying Odermatt the victory – was number 36 on Saturday and almost three seconds back.
However, unknown Swiss driver Alessio Miggiano finished fifth with the number 43, just 0.06 seconds off the podium.
