Patrouille Suisse Wengen prerace air present / GEPA footage
Lauberhorn legend awaits as Wengen’s downhill takes heart stage
The tight valley above Wengen comes alive earlier than a single racer pushes out of the beginning gate. A Swiss Air Power, Patrouille Suisse, air present rips by means of the mountains, echoing off the cliffs, setting the tone for certainly one of alpine snowboarding’s most iconic days. Then consideration turns to the Lauberhorn — by far the longest downhill on the World Cup circuit and a real traditional. Win right here and also you don’t simply declare a World Cup victory — you turn into a legend.
Saturday’s males’s downhill is simply the fourth race of the self-discipline this season, amplifying the stakes in a winter with restricted downhill alternatives. With so few begins to this point this season, each outcome carries outsized significance — and nowhere extra so than on the Lauberhorn.
Season context: simply three downhills to this point
The boys have raced solely three World Cup downhills this winter:
Beaver Creek
Val Gardena / Gröden (two races)
That shortage provides urgency to Wengen, the place one run can reshape the season narrative.
Males’s World Cup downhill podium desk — 2025–26
Podium snapshot: Swiss dominance
Winners: 2 — each 🇨🇭 Swiss (Odermatt, von Allmen)
Nations on the rostrum: 4 (🇨🇭 SUI, 🇮🇹 ITA, 🇺🇸 USA, 🇳🇴 NOR)
Podium finishes by nation (9 complete):
🇨🇭 Switzerland: 5
🇮🇹 Italy: 2
🇺🇸 United States: 1
🇳🇴 Norway: 1
Backside line: Switzerland has gained all three downhills and claimed greater than half of the rostrum locations, underscoring clear Swiss dominance in males’s World Cup downhill this season.
Odermatt, von Allmen, and the Swiss customary
Marco Odermatt arrives because the pre-race favourite. He’s the two-time defending World Cup downhill season champion (2024, 2025) and he leads the 2025–26 downhill standings once more. But downhill stays brutally unforgiving.
The defining stat: Odermatt has solely six profession World Cup downhill victories, regardless of proudly owning two season titles within the self-discipline — a reminder of how exhausting it’s to win even one downhill at this degree.
Proper alongside him is teammate Franjo von Allmen, a contender each time he leaves the gate. Switzerland’s depth stays unmatched. Final season, the Swiss swept the highest three within the downhill standings — Odermatt, von Allmen, and Alexis Monney — and positioned 5 skiers inside the highest eight, a typical they proceed to set on this Olympic season.
Males’s downhill — season standings high 5 (after three races)
Bib 7 — 🇨🇭 Marco Odermatt (SUI) — 1997 — 280 pts — Chief — Stöckli
Bib 13 — 🇨🇭 Franjo von Allmen (SUI) — 2001 — –50 — HEAD
Bib 15 — 🇮🇹 Dominik Paris (ITA) — 1989 — –140 — Nordica
Bib 4 — 🇮🇹 Florian Schieder (ITA) — 1995 — –162 — Atomic
Bib 26 — 🇫🇷 Nils Alphand (FRA) — 1996 — –185 — HEAD
Males’s downhill — World Cup Begin Checklist WCSL DH high 7
Bib 7 — 🇨🇭 Marco Odermatt (SUI) — 1997 — WCSL DH Rank 1 — Stöckli
Bib 9 — 🇨🇭 Alexis Monney (SUI) — 2000 — WCSL DH Rank 4 — Stöckli
Bib 7 — 🇦🇹 Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) — 1991 — WCSL DH Rank 5 — HEAD
Bib 11 — 🇫🇷 Nils Allègre (FRA) — 1994 — WCSL DH Rank 7
Bib 12 — 🇸🇮 Miha Hrobat (SLO) — 1995 — WCSL DH Rank 6 — Atomic
Bib 13 — 🇨🇭 Franjo von Allmen (SUI) — 2001 — WCSL DH Rank 2 — HEAD
Bib 15 — 🇮🇹 Dominik Paris (ITA) — 1989 — WCSL DH Rank 3 — Nordica
Stifel U.S. Ski Crew: momentum and perception
From a North American perspective, one outcome already stands out. Ryan Cochran-Siegle’s second place at Beaver Creek makes him the one USA athlete to achieve a World Cup podium to this point this season.
Seven U.S. athletes are entered on the Lauberhorn, mixing expertise with the grit required to outlive one of many sport’s most exhausting tracks.
🇺🇸 USA — seven starters
That is the ultimate downhill the place U.S. skiers can qualify for the Olympic staff on downhill standards; any remaining spots after Wengen will likely be stuffed by discretion.
Bib 1 — 🇺🇸 Bryce Bennett (USA) — 1992 — DH Rank 40 — Oakley
Bib 10 — 🇺🇸 Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA) — 1992 — DH Rank 7 — HEAD
Bib 38 — 🇺🇸 Wiley Maple (USA) — 1998 — Impartial — Atomic
Bib 44 — 🇺🇸 Kyle Negomir (USA) — 1991 — DH Rank 16 — Atomic
Bib 45 — 🇺🇸 Jared Goldberg (USA) — 1991
Bib 47 — 🇺🇸 Erik Arvidsson (USA) — 1996 — HEAD
Bib 51 — 🇺🇸 Sam Morse (USA) — 1996 — DH Rank 41 — Toko
Impartial watch: Maple’s entry deserves recognition. Racing independently is a brutally demanding path, particularly in downhill and super-G, the place logistics and sources matter as a lot as braveness.
Canada: 4 starters, three already scoring
Canada arrives with 4 males on the downhill begin record, and three have already scored World Cup factors this season.
🇨🇦 Canada — 4 starters
Bib 17 — 🇨🇦 Cameron Alexander (CAN) — 1997 — DH Rank 26
Bib 20 — 🇨🇦 James Crawford (CAN) — 1997 — DH Rank 36 — HEAD
Bib 27 — 🇨🇦 Brodie Seger (CAN) — 1995 — DH Rank 35 — Atomic
Bib 39 — 🇨🇦 Jeffrey Learn (CAN) — 1997 — Atomic
The Lauberhorn take a look at
With a begin at 2,315 meters, a end at 1,287 meters, and greater than 1,000 meters of vertical drop over 4.4 kilometers, the Lauberhorn provides no place to cover. It calls for velocity, line execution, endurance, and nerve from the primary push to the ultimate end compression.
That’s the reason this race nonetheless issues the way in which it does. Win the Lauberhorn downhill, and your identify is etched into alpine historical past.
Easy methods to Watch
The boys take the hill on Thursday, Dec 4, at 6:30 a.m. EST / 3:30 a.m. PST
Every day Program
Click on on the picture to obtain
Males’s Begin Checklist
