Marco Odermatt of Switzerland won the downhill season opener on Thursday, beating American Ryan Cochran-Siegle in a World Cup race on the challenging but shorter Birds of Prey course.
Odermatt finished in 1 minute, 29.84 seconds, 0.30 seconds ahead of Cochran-Siegle. Norwegian Adrian Smizeth Seiersted finished third. The finish line was moved up the hill and was barely visible to fans in the stands due to the lack of snow to properly position the safety netting.
Odermatt stated that in his 11th race at the track, he was able to tackle the steeper sections and generate sufficient speed on the flatter sections.
“This is the perfect race for me,” Odermatt said.
Isn't this the perfect race for him now?
Odermatt has won the last two downhill world titles. He has performed consistently in competition and has not finished outside the top seven in the World Cup downhill since 2023. It was his fifth World Cup downhill victory.
Odermatt also started the World Cup super-G season with a victory on Thanksgiving Day at nearby Copper Mountain.
“How to catch him? I don't know,” Cochran-Siegle said of Odermatt, who has won the last four overall World Cup crowns. “I think the rest of the world is still trying to figure it out.”
Cochran-Siegle spent some time in the box after a smooth game. He is the first American to finish on the World Cup downhill podium at Beaver Creek since Steven Nyman finished third in 2014. The last American rider to win a World Cup downhill event at Beaver Creek was Bode Miller in 2011.
“It’s great to stand among these legends,” said Cochran-Siegle, a silver medalist in the super-G at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Cochran-Siegle, 32, is the new standard-bearer for one of American skiing's staunchest families. The son of 1972 Olympic slalom champion Barbara Cochran, he grew up on a small family ski run near Burlington, Vermont, where generations of Cochrans learned the sport. He began his career as a promising giant slalom specialist before turning his attention to speed events, steadily gaining a place on the World Cup circuit.
His path has also been shaped by resilience. Cochran-Siegle survived a series of major setbacks, including a serious knee injury that required multiple surgeries and a broken neck that threatened to end his career, only to come back stronger each time. He took his first World Championship victory in 2020 in his 101st start and stuns field in Olympic super-G three years ago.
In recent seasons, he has become one of the tour's most consistent competitors in the downhill and super-G, recording 28 top-10 finishes across the two events.
Seiersted made his first World Cup podium in downhill. He has two more super-G podium finishes to his name.
His Norwegian teammate Alexander Aamodt Kilde finished in 11th place, taking another big step towards a comeback from a serious crash.
This was Kilda's first speed race since then. his accident in January 2024. Kield underwent surgery for a serious cut and nerve damage to his right calf, as well as torn two shoulder ligaments.
“I’m very pleased with how I was able to control the situation today,” said Kield, who also competed in super-G on Thanksgiving Day. “I’m very happy with the feeling I had at the finish line.”
Rok Azno from Slovenia was involved in a terrible accident towards the end of the race. He was taken to hospital for evaluation of head and knee injuries.
Earlier in the day, organizers announced that the super-G race would be moved to Friday as the weather forecast for Saturday did not look favorable. A giant slalom competition is scheduled for Sunday.
