Hütter Wins Kvitfjell Downhill
The race for the women’s Downhill Crystal Globe looks like it is going to the wire. Conny Hütter (AUT/Head) put down an aggressive run to win the first of a weekend Downhill double-header in Kvitfjell, Norway, gaining vital points on Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic), who finished fourth, and Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol), who wound up fifth.
It was Hütter’s second Downhill triumph of the season – she secured victory in the opening race of 2024-25 at Beaver Creek – and the Austrian is not going to relinquish the Downhill title she won for the first time last season easily.
Emma Aicher (GER/Head), meanwhile, confirmed her status as one of the most exciting young skiers around. The 21-year-old stormed onto her first World Cup podium, finishing second, just +0.15 seconds behind Hütter.
Breezy Johnson (USA/ Atomic), fresh from being crowned Downhill World Champion in Saalbach earlier in the month, produced a powerful performance to finish third, and secure her eighth career World Cup podium.
Hütter, Brignone and Goggia have won every World Cup Downhill this winter between them, and on a firm, fast course in fine Norwegian conditions, it always looked like one of the top three would prevail again. Brignone put down an early marker of 1.31.97, with a smooth flowing run. Hütter also looked composed, but managed to find better speed and recover from her minor errors quickly to clock 1.31.46. The result represented some redemption after a difficult World Championships for the Austrian.
“It was tough two weeks ago,” she said. “This was about finding my mindset again, my feeling again. A smooth line makes me feel fast on skis, and I missed that the last month. It is nice to have that feeling back. To have in my head, what I need to go fast. It is nice to be fast again.”
It is too early to think about the title, she insists. “The Downhill standing is more important for you guys than for us at this point in the season,” she said. “We still have a second half to the season, so I really want to try every single race – find high speed, attack and give everything. It is not always easy, but today it was a lot of fun and it was a nice day on the Downhill track.”
Goggia put in a trademark barnstorming performance, edging ahead of her Italian teammate, but was +0.44 shy of the Austrian.
Other contenders like Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI/Head), and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR/Head), who won the Downhill on this piste in March 2023, struggled with their lines.
Emma Aicher, however, deserved to share the headlines. The 21-year-old German has shown signs of being on the verge of big things. Equally capable across the disciplines, she had previously registered a fifth place finish in the Super G here in Kvitfjell (in March 2023), and was sixth earlier this month at the World Cup Slalom in Sestriere.
Aicher has the raw strength to contend in the Downhill too, though, and on this speedy course, put down a run to briefly scare Hütter, and secure her first World Cup podium.
“It felt pretty good – I thought ‘maybe it’s good, maybe not’, but it was fun,” said Aicher. “The course is nice, it has a little bit of everything. It felt good, in training I had a plan and I could follow it. I just thought I’d do the same today.”
Will she continue to do all four disciplines? “Yeah, the plan is that – but we will see how it goes,” said the German. “But yes, I want to. I like the change, I like to do everything, I don’t have a favourite discipline.” And can she move one step up the podium some time soon? “We will see."
Johnson is looking like a threat every time she skis at the moment, and the American carried over her fine World Championship form to Norway, pushing the limits and recovering fast when occasionally losing her edge.
“I made some mistakes, so I’m kind of surprised by the result,” said Johnson. “I feel like I’ve had good skiing here. All things considered, you’ve got to push things, you’ve got to try things out, you’ve got to risk things. Considering all that I risked, and all that I paid for, I think I did pretty well. The slope is good, it definitely locked up quite a bit last night, so it’s definitely faster, but it’s a really fun slope.”
The results mean that the athletes head into the second race in the Downhill double-header in Kvitfjell on Saturday with the standings delicately poised.
Hütter and Brignone have won two Downhills each this season; Goggia has won one, but has clocked two second places. Brignone still leads the standings with 334 Downhill points, Goggia has 310 and Hütter 308.
“It’s nice to start the weekend like this, tomorrow we have another chance,” said Hütter. “I’ll just try to focus on my skiing. I’ve done that in training and it has gone really well."
