Kriechmayr bosses downhill as World Cup Finals start in Soldeu

Vincent Kriechmayr has been metronomically excellent in speed skiing over the last six seasons – but the 31-year-old Austrian ace ensured that 2022-23 was his best yet, taking his fourth downhill World Cup win of the year in Soldeu, Andorra, as the World Cup Finals began on Wednesday.

The spotlight had mainly been on Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) and Marco Odermatt (SUI) prior to this race, but on a punchy but reasonably easy downhill piste, the Norwegian couldn’t summon another charge and finished 6th, while Odermatt was a little scrappy and trailed in 15th.

Perhaps Kilde had relaxed having already won the downhill crystal globe, and Odermatt is more focused on super-G and GS. But Kriechmayr was all business.

He was steady and balanced at the top, negotiated a tricky light-to-dark section with ease, and found remarkable speed at the end to take the spoils.

“It was not so easy, it was more bumpy than yesterday,” he said. “I tried my best, I was pushing from the first gate to the finish. It is a short downhill, but I’m happy with my skiing, it was a good race.

“This is my best season so far in downhill, and I will work hard in the summer to close the [overall] gap with Odi and Alex. They are always super strong, fantastic skiers, but I will keep pushing.”

Romed Baumann, the first bib down, got second place, just +0.09 seconds behind. The 37-year-old has had an impressive career without clocking a major World Cup win (apart from in super combined races in 2009 and 2012). He also hadn’t had a podium since a downhill second place in 2015.

He believed that the early start benefited both himself and teammate Andreas Sander (GER), who came down third (+0.13) and finished in third place.

“We had good start numbers and we took the opportunity,” said Baumann. “From my side, it was a good run except maybe the last corner. My last podium in downhill was 2015, so I’m more than happy with that.”

He indicated that he has no intentions of retiring. “You have to do hard summer training, but skiing is still fun, it is still my passion,” he said. “Johan Clarey [skiing into his 40s] was a relief for me, because as long as he was skiing, nobody asked me about how long I will go on.”

Sander, 33, is enjoying his best ever spell as a top skier too, adding this podium to the super-G second place he got in Aspen at the start of March, which was his first top three finish.

“Back to back podiums for me is unbelievable,” he said. “It was not easy. I was expecting a close race and it was. I was really pushing hard.

"It was not perfect, but everyone did mistakes because the piste was a lot faster than over the last days. In the end, I am super happy.”

Kilde meanwhile finally got his hands on the downhill globe, retaining the title from last year.

“It’s again a dream come true,” he said. “Today was an amazing race, a fair race, a tough one, so congrats to the winners.

“It’s been a crazy season but I’m really happy with how everything went. Sitting here with this globe for the second time in a row is unbelievable. I will keep going and see if I can do it again next time.

“It was of a fight to the end last year with [Beat] Feuz, so that was nerve wracking. Today I was more relaxed. I tried to ski for the win but wasn’t good enough today.”

The final word, though, should go to Johan Clarey (FRA), who called to an end a fantastic World Cup career aged 42.

The racer, who can look back on 240 World Cup starts, 11 podiums and an Olympic Games silver medal, showed all his trademark speed and touch, wearing a celebratory helmet made by his team, and finished 12th.

“It was really emotional this morning at the start,” he said. “I had a lot of good vibes from the athletes and I almost cried a couple of times. But I focused and managed a good race, I’m happy with my 12th place. Now I am just a tourist.

“I want to say a big thank you, to my family and friends, and expecially to my wife. It’s a big relief, I’m out of the pressure now, and I’m happy with what I did.”

The skiing world salutes him. The men’s World Cup Finals continue with the super-G in Soldeu tomorrow.