Paris thrills Italian fans with dazzling Saslong Downhill victory

Dominik Paris (ITA) conquered the classic Saslong Downhill piste with a wild, scintillating run and then let out huge screams of emotion after crossing the finish line in top position. The raucous celebration continued as the Italian fan favourite knocked Norwegian downhill king Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) off the top spot by 0.44 seconds.

Paris – who skied bib No. 12 in Saturday’s race at the 56th Saslong Classic – hung on to win his 18th career World Cup downhill victory, in style, in front of the home nation crowd packing Val Gardena/Groeden. It was the first career win for the 34-year-old Italian on the renowned course.

“It means a lot – I’m always in trouble here on this course,” Paris said, after the emotional victory on home snow. “I only have one good result here, but the rest of time it’s always been with mistakes.

“It was a really great feeling skiing down this hill today, and in the end it was a result that I didn’t expect,” said Paris, whose previous best finish in Val Gardena was third in 2014.

Paris nailed the upper gliding section of the piste and increased his lead successfully navigating the steep and treacherous Sochers Wall section and while taking flight over the famed trio of Camel Humps. The Italian racer entered the crucial Ciaslat section with a .60 second advantage and a speed of 122.7 Kph on the lower section of the piste. He ultimately relinquished .16 down the final stretch and over the Tunnel Jump, but it was still plenty enough for victory.

“I tried to ski really smooth, but not push it too much,” Paris said. “It was a really, really good run for me and a great run for me.”

With a winning time of 1:59.84, Paris was the only of 62 racers to crack the two-minute barrier on Saturday.

The triumph for Paris came on the full-length 3.5-kilometer Saslong course, contested in the shadow of the towering Sassolungo mountain, on what was a spectacular, sunny day in the Italian Dolomites of Northern Italy.

With his impressive victory, the 34-year-old Paris equaled Austrian great Stephan Eberharter at tied for third all-time with 18 World Cup downhill wins. Only Austrian Franz Klammer (25) and Swiss Peter Mueller (19) have achieved more.

“I will keep this emotion I have at the moment and try to bring it to Bormio,” Paris said, referring to the next downhill and super-G of the season, Dec. 27 and 28. It is a piste that the Italian has won seven times on.

Paris is the first Italian to speed to a downhill victory on the Saslong track since Kristian Ghedina won for the fourth-time here in 2001.

Another close call for the Norwegian Viking

Kilde – who narrowly missed victory in Thursday’s “Sprint” downhill on the Saslong course – held on for second place, while American Bryce Bennett, who was triumphant two days ago, nabbed third place, .60 seconds behind Paris.

The two-time defending World Cup downhill champion from Norway, who skied bib No. 6, was absolutely magical making two spectacular recoveries in the air on the bumpy and unpredictable terrain of Ciaslat, where finding the right line is akin to pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Kilde gained four-tenths of a second  down the final stretch, but ultimately settled for second.

“Paris had a blitzing run from top to bottom, just super well done, so hats off to him,” Kilde said. “I know the feeling here to have a clean run, but today was a couple mistakes too much, and that was second place, but I’ll take it.”

Big Bryce Back on the Podium

The American “Big Man” Bennett charged to his second podium in Val Gardena over three days. Bennett – who also took top honors on the Saslong in 2021 – took advantage of his gliding talents up top and once again using his long legs to deftly absorb the vast and varied terrain of the always tricky Ciaslat, executed another superb run.

Bennett’s second top notch performance, yet again, follows Thursday’s unexpected “Sprint” downhill victory.

“To be honest, today felt better than on Thursday – it’s a lot to deal with, and I’ve never been in this position, where you ski well in a race and then you have another opportunity the same week, so to try and get past that mentally, and have a good run was a huge win for me,” said the 31-year-old American racer.

Bennett, having demonstrating consistency across the three days of speed racing in Val Gardena – winning on Thursday, 14th in super-G on Friday, and third on Saturday – tallied 178 points to claim the Val Gardena Südtirol Ski Trophy.

“I’m super fired up to go to Bormio – I love that track,” Bennett said, about the upcoming downhill race on the Stelvio poste.

But the hero of Saturday was Paris, who undoubtedly upheld the 56th Saslong Classic slogan of ‘Passion and Performance since 1969.” There was certainly no denying the passion in the veteran Italian racer’s heart and his stellar performance was among his recent best.

The men’s World Cup tour now heads over the Gardena Pass, shifting to nearby Alta Badia for a pair of giant slaloms on the demanding Gran Risa course.