The Swiss speed specialists remain the benchmark in the men's World Cup: A Swiss double victory with Franjo von Almen as the winner of the 58th Saslong Classic in the classic downhill race.
Von Allmen did not ski a flawless run on his way to the gold, but he compensated for his mistakes with consistently high speed from start to finish, keeping his competitors at bay. The reigning downhill world champion was followed closely by his teammate Marco Odermatt, who finished second, three tenths of a second behind. This meant that the overall World Cup leader also made it onto the podium in the third race in Val Gardena in 2025.
Schieder celebrates his first home podium
In addition to the two Swiss high-flyers, who were in a league of their own on Saturday, Florian Schieder, an athlete from South Tyrol, also had every reason to celebrate. The Castelrotto/Kastelruth native clocked the third-fastest time, 98 hundredths behind, to secure his first podium finish in front of his home crowd. The fact that Schieder, who lives just 15 minutes from the Saslong, was able to celebrate with many friends and acquaintances in the finish stadium made the 30-year-old all the more delighted.
As in Thursday's sprint downhill, the Italian speed team also impressed with a strong team performance in the classic downhill. Veteran Dominik Paris from Ulten finished sixth despite a few mistakes, Mattia Casse came eighth, and Giovanni Franzoni crossed the finish line in twelfth place. Benjamin Jacques Alliod also picked up some World Cup points in 20th place.
Franjo von Allmen (SUI | 1st place): "After two second places behind Marco, it feels really good to be faster than him this time. My run wasn't quite perfect, as I made one or two small mistakes that cost me time. Actually, it could have been even better. But today I had great skis with a strong base speed—I have to thank my service man for that. My crash in the super-G was definitely still in the back of my mind, but luckily I was able to block out that mishap today.“
Marco Odermatt (SUI | 2nd place): ”In the super-G, I was definitely more annoyed about coming second than I was today. I know that the entry into the Ciaslat wasn't right – I'm actually very happy with the rest of the run. The slope was even faster than expected in the race, which threw me off a bit on the way to the Ciaslat. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Franjo is definitely my biggest rival in the downhill. He has incredible base speed, which he demonstrated once again today in formidable fashion. The two of us were perhaps in a league of our own, but other top racers such as Dominik Paris and Florian Schieder can also be extremely fast.“
Florian Schieder (ITA/Kastelruth | 3rd place): ”I've always had problems in Val Gardena/Gröden – so it's all the more satisfying that I was finally able to show this year that I can keep up with the best here too. After last season, I worked a lot on my equipment and made some improvements together with ‘Domme’, so I have to thank him too. It's a tremendous feeling to finish with a result like this in front of friends and family. For us downhill racers, Kitzbühel is definitely the ultimate, but for me as a South Tyrolean, Val Gardena/Gröden comes right after that. We currently have an outstanding spirit in the Italian team and push each other to top performances. Everyone benefits from this, including me. There will certainly be a lot of celebrating today.“
Dominik Paris (ITA/Ulten | 6th place): ”Unfortunately, I messed up the middle section from the camel humps to Ciaslat and lost a lot of time. Sixth place is certainly a good result, but I can't be satisfied with my performance. Many friends and family came here for today's downhill race – the large number of fans in the finish stadium made the race a very special experience for me. When the result is good too, it makes the whole thing even better."
Full results
Words and Pictures Saslong Club