Third Season Win For Dominik Paris In Downhill At Kvitfjell

The last week-end of speed races before the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals kicked off with the downhill today in Kvitfjell. Two athletes have been dominating the discipline this season, and it was no different on the Olympiatoppen, where Dominik Paris took the win ahead of Beat Feuz. Austria’s Matthias Mayer completes the podium.

He already won in Bormio and in Kitzbuehel this season, and for the first time in his career, Dominik Paris manages do earn three wins in a discipline. This adds to his win in the super-g in Bormio and at the World Championships in Åre. All in all a fantastic season for the South Tyrolean, who still has a shot to the discipline globe as he is now 80 points behind Beat Feuz, with one race to go. But Paris doesn’t think about the points; he is confident, enjoying his skiing and looking forward to the World Cup Finals.

Beat Feuz was on the podium in every downhill race this season, except Lake Louise. Today’s second place in Kvitfjell is part of that incredible streak, where Feuz constantly skis at the highest level. Already last year, when he won the downhill globe, Feuz said he thought this was an impossible feat for someone with his injury history. So he is extremely happy to be leading the cup standings by 80 points before the last race and will try to defend his title in Soldeu.

It’s the first downhill World Cup podium of the season for Matthias Mayer. The double Olympic champions has been very fast in many sections and trainings, but struggled to bring it down on race day. So this podium, the 21st of his career, comes as a relief and motivates him for the last races of the season. Last year, he was able to claim the win at the World Cup Finals in Åre, so he knows how to manage his energy level all the way to the end.

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.