“Lion” Hintermann wins Kvitfjell downhill after Sarrazin injury

It has been a men’s downhill season defined by injuries – most notably the dramatic crash of defending champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), which ended his campaign – and another unfortunate incident would be the headline in Kvitfjell, Norway.

Ski fans had been salivating at the prospect of Marco Odermatt (SUI) going head to head with Cyprien Sarrazin (FRA) in the race for the downhill crystal globe – only six points separated the pair in the point standings ahead of this race, with two races to go.

But an injury in training meant that the Frenchman who won two downhills in January didn’t line up. The Swiss, meanwhile, does not generally perform well on this track, and struggled again, finishing fifth.

Niels Hintermann (SUI), however, loves this piste, which was created for the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games. He won his only downhill title so far here in 2022 – and repeated the feat on Saturday with a brilliant run.

Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) got second place, +0.08 seconds behind, his first podium of the season, while Cameron Alexander (CAN) took third (+0.19 seconds).

Several racers struggled: Kvitfjell is a course where risks need to be taken, but it led to numerous mistakes. Dominik Paris (ITA), who has won four times here, looked quick on the top section of the track, but slid over partially mid-course and lost a second; Odermatt pushed a little too hard and made errors, and Nils Allegre (FRA) suffered a nasty crash, but mercifully skied back down the hill after a long delay.

Hintermann however looked like a man on a mission. He has twice podiumed before in Kvitfjell (a third and first place in 2022), and after a disappointing season by his standards, he found the right combination of smooth and committed.

“You could say this is my favourite course,” said Hintermann. “It is a lot of fun and they did an amazing job on it. The slope is tough but it’s good conditions. It’s really solid and fair.

“The run didn’t feel that good, I couldn’t keep the rhythm, it was a fight, I fought with my line and felt quite wide, but I fought it seriously, like a lion. But I was surprised when I saw the green light, because I didn’t think it was good enough.

“Last time [I won here] the run felt perfect, but I didn’t feel that today. Doubts arised, and my confidence wasn’t the highest, so I am really happy and proud of me, to have the feeling of having fun racing again.”

Kriechmayr also had the best performance of what has been a quiet season. He has podiumed every season of his career since 2017, and did not want to lose that record. The Austrian looked back to his composed best in Norway, finding great speed in the lower section of the run.

“My run was pretty good, I tried to ski smooth,” said Kriechmayr. "It was not a really difficult race but it is difficult to be fast, and I made a good run. I am skiing better than the last times. I had to make a run on the limits.”

He conceded that it had been a tough year for the Austrian racers. “The whole team tried its best but our skiing has not been that good,” he said. “The last races I was struggling. The other athletes are strong, of course. The whole team has better super G results than downhill results. We will get better next year.”

Alexander also had a flyer, finishing third. “It felt fast,” he said. “I got pushed around a little more than I thought I was going to, so I wasn’t sure at the finish line how the time would be.

“But I felt I was moving quick, which is usually a good thing, and it showed in the times. It feels good to be where I am now. There’s always ebbs and flows through the season. This is one of the most fun tracks to ski. It is an enjoyable ride.”

It was a rare off day for Odermatt, but he was not disappointed. Fifth place represented his best result on the Norwegian track to date. It has been something of a bogey piste: he had failed to finish in the top 10 in each of his six World Cup starts previously here.

“I’m very happy with my run, it is an improvement on the last years here, and the skiing was good,” said Odermatt. “There were one or two places where I could have skied a little bit more clean, but that’s OK.”

An Odermatt victory could have put the downhill globe out of site, but Sarrazin now has a month to recover and potentially get back in contention at the World Cup finals in Saalbach.

These racers, meanwhile, go again in Kvitfjell on Sunday in the super G – a discipline that Odermatt has been utterly dominating, and will see as a great opportunity to end his Norwegian hoodoo.