Swiss Racers Murisier And Odermatt Go 1-2 In Birds Of Prey Men’s Downhill

A little over a month shy of turning 33, Justin Murisier of Switzerland on Friday achieved something he’s spent the better part of his life seeking — a FIS World Cup victory.

The podium was not what many had predicted. After a previous season of Odermatt vs. Sarrazin in downhill, it was the unassuming Swiss Justin Murisier who claimed the top spot and his first ever World Cup win.  His teammate Marco Odermatt landed in second. Miha Hrobat of Slovenia took third for his first World Cup podium.

While all eyes were focused on his stellar teammate, Marco Odermatt, Murisier laid down the best time of the day at 1:40.04 to win the Stiefel Birds of Prey men’s downhill. Odermatt was second, .20 seconds back, in the opening downhill of the 2024-25 season. Third was Slovenia’s Miha Hrobat, .35 seconds off the pace.

“I’ve been waiting for years for such a moment to happen,” said Murisier, who turns 33 on January 8, following his victory. “I had a lot of surgeries, a lot of injuries. But I was fighting and still dreaming.” On Friday, Murisier said he focused on staying low in his tuck, “and go as straight as possible. Everything worked out well, and I’m quite happy.”

The top American was Bryce Bennett of Truckee, Calif., in sixth, .88 behind the winner. He credits making changes to his equipment setup prior to the start of the season behind a new-found success on the Birds of Prey course, where he previously struggled to get into the top 10. Bennett, who holds two career World Cup wins, both in Val Gardena, Italy, and his wife are also expecting their first child in March 2025.

“One of the most difficult Beaver Creek races I’ve ever skied,” said Bennett, who indicated the course was faster than in training runs held Tuesday and Thursday.

Odermatt, 27, the defending World Cup overall and downhill champion — as well as the reigning world champion — appeared to be on his way to victory, with a delicate .19-second lead as he approached the last third of the course. But he lost time in the final stretches despite his prodigious talents, and came across the line a blink of an eye behind his teammate for one-two Swiss finish.

“It was a solid run, but I did two mistakes,” said Odermatt, who has been the dominant force in Alpine racing in recent years, and has 37 career wins. “I just didn’t feel good off the start; I was not that fast in the flat part. I did well in the middle part, and was a little bit ahead, but then in the second to last jump I went a little too far and not in a good direction. So, I think I lost the victory there.”

Odermatt’s first-ever World Cup win came five years ago to the day at this venue when he won the Super-G. “It’s always great to come back here. We love to race here,” he said. “For me, it’s the best downhill we have on the tour; everything is in (the course), the snow is always good, the weather most of the time as well.”

Murisier’s previous best finish in a World Cup downhill was fourth in Bormio nearly a year ago. In his only other downhill at this venue, in 2022, he was well out of the points in 50th place. Murisier has spent the bulk of his career focusing on technical races — giant slalom and slalom. “I decided to switch two years ago, and I’m lucky to have a teammate like Marco,” he said. “I always have him to compare in training, and he helped me a lot. So I want to thank him for that.”

Norway’s Alexsander Aamodt Kilde, who won the previous four races held at Beaver Creek, a combination of downhill and super-G events, was on site, though he is out for the season due to complications related to injuries he suffered in January at Wengen, Switzerland. Kilde was on the course earlier in the day, talking with Odermatt and other Swiss racers, who greeted him with warm hugs.

For the Americans Bryce Bennett was the top American in the men’s downhill, finishing in sixth place. Ryan Cochran-Siegle also punched it into the top 15, finishing 12th.

"I've been skiing really well all summer long and I had some good training runs so I felt confident on my skis," said Bennett.

The podium was not what many had predicted. After a previous season of Odermatt vs. Sarrazin in downhill, it was the unassuming Swiss Justin Murisier who claimed the top spot and his first ever World Cup win. His teammate Marco Odermatt landed in second. Miha Hrobat of Slovenia took third for his first World Cup podium.

It was also a strong start for Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle. He had a large mistake and still managed a top-15 result. A testament to the hard work the men's speed team has put in this summer.

"Places were good for sure," said Cochran-Siegle. "It's awesome seeing Bryce ski so well right now he is locked in, and our team as a whole has been executing the training runs really well."

Under classic Colorado blue skies, the day proved dramatic, seeing a number of crashes on the terrain-ladened course that caused long course holds. Sam DuPratt was one of the men who went into the net and down in a sled. His injuries are still being evaluated.

The result marked yet another top 10 for Bennett, who continues to show his strength in downhill. With four top 10s last season and two podiums—including his first career win—the 6’ 7” speed skier was pleased with the result of the season-opening downhill. It's been an exciting week for the speed skier; his wife also announced her pregnancy... and her due date: March 22, the day of the World Cup Finals downhill.

"One of my goals after last season was to keep skiing and being competitive and so it was great to have this result to reinforce that feeling," said Bennett.

Sam Morse also found the top 30, finishing 21st. Erik Arvidsson was 34th, Jared Goldberg 39th, Kyle Negomir 45th and Wiley Maple 52nd.

Next up, the men race super-G on Saturday and a giant slalom Sunday. The women race the Stifel Birds of Prey the following weekend.

"Beaver Creek super-G is a very challenging course so I just need to keep doing what I am doing and trying to have fun with it," said Cochran-Siegle. 

Canada’s Brodie Seger won the $5,000 Stiefel Bibbo prize, a cash award for the biggest gain between start number and finish position. Seger started with bib 49 and finished 10th on the day.

Friday’s race was held under clear, blue skies — a welcome change after high winds, heavy snow and poor visibility caused the cancellation of all three Birds of Prey races in 2023, a first in the history of the event.