Ski World Cup on the Streif
Ski racer Vogt surprises at Franzoni’s victory in Kitzbühel
An Italian causes a coup in Kitzbühel. Shooting star Franzoni beats superstar Odermatt with a dream run. After many setbacks, a German also achieved a top result.
The Italian Giovanni Franzoni won the Hahnenkamm downhill run in Kitzbühel. The 24-year-old ski racer prevailed in a hundredth thriller ahead of Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt. The Frenchman Maxence Muzaton came third at the prestigious World Cup in Tyrol.
Luis Vogt made a big German exclamation point: The 23-year-old finished in a strong eighth place, despite the high starting number 40. This was the best World Cup result of Vogt’s career to date. “Awesome,” he said. “I think you could see that at the finish. I’m really happy.” “Incredible. I don’t even know what to say,” said Franzoni, who thought of his late skiing companion Matteo Franzoso at the moment of his greatest success. “I know he would be proud of me.” The Italian, who received the record winner’s prize money of 101,000 euros (gross), also broke the Swiss dominance in the downhill after four wins in the first four races of the season.
That hurts, says Odermatt
Odermatt, who has never won the prestigious downhill in Kitzbühel, was visibly disappointed after his ride. “Today there was only one thing and that was victory. If you miss it by seven hundredths, then it really hurts.” However, the gap has never been as close as this year. One small consolation remains: with his 100th podium finish in the World Cup, Odermatt breaks another sound barrier.
Vogt was only 0.95 seconds behind the winner. Simon Jocher (+1.99 seconds) came in 30th place. Experienced Romed Baumann (2.64 seconds back) only made it to 43rd place.
Franzoni was already the best in training
Franzoni had already impressed in training and was the fastest twice. Starting the race in second place, he set the best time with a strong run, which even Super-G winner Odermatt was later unable to break. Franzoni achieved the first Italian victory since Dominik Paris’ success in 2019.
dpa
