Paris Wins Second Race In Three Days In Kvitfjell
On the third straight day of racing, in a shortened Super G, Italian veteran Dominik Paris (ITA/Nordica) showed he can still sprint with the best of them. The 35-year-old won his second race in three days in Kvitfjell on Sunday, executing a near-perfect run on a course that demanded it to finish in 1:08.98 and ensure that he stood on the top step of his 50th World Cup podium.
Two days after claiming his first victory of the season in Friday's Downhill, Paris recorded his first Super G win since 2019, finishing well ahead of James Crawford (CAN/Head, +0.38s) and Miha Hrobat (SLO/Atomic, +0.47s).
"It was really good skiing from my side and the feeling was amazing," said Paris, who matched Gustav Thoeni (ITA) with his 24th World Cup win, equal-second among Italian men behind the legendary Alberto Tomba (ITA, 50).
"I was just trying to be smooth and to bring always the speed," Paris said of his strategy on Sunday. "Seeing the green light, that was really surprising for me too."
After a difficult 2024/25 campaign, Paris is rounding into form with less than a year remaining until his home Olympic Games at Milano Cortina 2026, with men's Alpine skiing to be held on his beloved Stelvio piste in Bormio. The Nordica star may also have some unfinished business in Kvitfjell at the end of next season, as Sunday's victory marked his sixth triumph on the Olympiabakken, one short of Kjetil Jansrud's (NOR) record.
"Next year for sure I want to go on, because I have the Olympics and then I come back here," Paris said. "When I have the chance (to equal or surpass Jansrud's record), I will try to take it."
On this weekend's form, which also included a sixth place in Saturday's second Downhill, it would perhaps be unwise to bet against Paris still having another major victory left in him next season.
At the very least, he can continue adding to his World Cup podium haul after becoming the 24th man to reach half-a-century, with Peter Mueller (SUI, 51) next in his sights and Ted Ligety (USA, 52) and Jansrud (55) not far away.
On Sunday, with some of the top technical turns out of play due to the race beginning at the reserve start below the Russi jump, Paris used his trademark strength to power down the course with big green lights all the way. He was in a class of his own, winning a short Super G by 0.38 seconds on a day when only 0.35 seconds separated second-placed Crawford from 14th.
Those fine margins saw Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli, +0.48s) miss the podium by a hundredth of a second in fourth, with Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT/Head) one hundredth further back in fifth.
Before the top seeds made their challenge, it was Crawford who took advantage of an early start with bib No.5 in the soft snow conditions to put down a target time that many threatened, but only one surpassed.
"I was really happy with the skiing the whole way down," said Crawford, who secured only his second World Cup Super G podium, both of which have come in Kvitfjell. I had a good inspection, was feeling pretty clear on the skiing and the plan that I needed to bring, and was able to just push out and feel free to ski."
The combination of the shortened race and varying snow surface meant being error-free was crucial, something perhaps only Paris and Crawford achieved.
"The snow is not bad by any means today, but a little bit different than the last two days and a little inconsistent here and there," the Canadian said. "Really being able to flow with the hill and not having to make too many corrections felt important."
Odermatt, whose third consecutive Super G Crystal Globe was confirmed pre-race when Mattia Casse (ITA/Rossignol) withdrew due to injury, looked to have done enough to secure his third podium of the weekend when he crossed the line in third place, despite a couple of minor mistakes.
But Hrobat, coming down with bib No.21, topped him by the narrowest margin in ski racing, a day after coming fourth in Saturday's Downhill and missing the podium by five hundredths of a second. It was Hrobat's third World Cup podium — all this season — and first in Super G as his late-career breakout campaign continued at age 30.
"This Super G got me quite some problems in the last few years, also this year with a higher number, I couldn't show my best skiing," said Hrobat, who made the Downhill podium in Beaver Creek and Wengen earlier this season.
"Today I managed with a bit of a better number what I can do also in Super G," he said. Hrobat's late charge to bump Odermatt off the podium broke a streak of 22 consecutive men's World Cup Super G races with a Swiss skier among the top three. The previous time they failed to produce a podium performance in this discipline was in March 2022, also in Kvitfjell. "It's a nice feeling also to beat the Swiss," Hrobat admitted. "They're really, really good this year and it's quite an achievement."
Also quite an achievement: winning two races in three days at age 35. For the second time this weekend, Dominik Paris showed that he is not done yet.
