The men's downhill in the 2024 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup consisted of eight events. The season had been planned with thirteen downhills, but two scheduled downhills on 11/12 November 2023 on the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

, running from Switzerland (

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

) into Italy (

Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (; ; Valdôtain: ), officially Le Breuil from September 2023, is a of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, Italy. It is a winter and summer tourist resort. Etymology The name ''Breuil-Cervinia'' is a fusion of two terms. On the o ...

), were canceled for the second straight year, this time due to heavy snowfall and high winds (unlike the year before, when the cancellation was due to lack of snow), and only one has been rescheduled (at Val Gardena on 12 December). The two downhill races after that, scheduled in the U.S. at Beaver Creek, Colorado, were also cancelled for the same reason, although they still may be rescheduled—meaning that the downhill season had not completed a race as of early December despite having had four scheduled, with the next attempt being the rescheduled race at Val Gardena/Gröden. One of the Beaver Creek races was rescheduled at Wengen on 11 January 2024. As described in the season summary, two February downhills at

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, France were cancelled later in the season, reducing the total races in the discipline to nine. In the last race of the World Cup season, the final was also cancelled, meaning that seven men's downhills were cancelled during the season and only two of those were rescheduled.

Season summary

After the cancellations, the season began with the make-up at Val Gardena/Grõden, which was won (in a huge upset) by American

Bryce Bennett Bryce Bennett (born November 11, 1984) is an American politician from Montana. As a Democrat, he served in the Montana Senate from 2019 to 2021, and represented the 50th senate district based in Missoula. He previously served in the Montana Hous ...

(who did not start in the top 30), edging out two-time defending discipline champion

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (born 21 September 1992) is a Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer. He competes in four events, with a main focus on super-G and downhill.Marco Odermatt Marco Odermatt (born 8 October 1997) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who races in giant slalom, super-G and downhill. He is considered the most complete alpine ski racer of his generation. In addition to the World Cup, Odermatt has comp ...

from Switzerland. In the next race, on the Stelvio in Bormio, overall World Cup leader

Marco Schwarz Marco Schwarz (born 16 August 1995) is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. He focuses on the technical events of slalom and giant slalom, as well as the combined (a mixture of speed and technical disciplines). Career Schwarz competed for ...

of Austria suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Switzerland's

Marco Odermatt Marco Odermatt (born 8 October 1997) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who races in giant slalom, super-G and downhill. He is considered the most complete alpine ski racer of his generation. In addition to the World Cup, Odermatt has comp ...

, who finished second, took over first place in the discipline for the season. The season then became a battle between Odermatt and French skier

Cyprien Sarrazin Cyprien Sarrazin (born 13 October 1994) is a French World Cup alpine ski racer who races in giant slalom, super-G and downhill. Born in Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Sarrazin made his World Cup debut at age 21 in February 2016. Initially a giant slalom sp ...

, who won both of the downhills in Kitzbühel, Austria to move into second, just six points behind Odermatt, who had previously won the two downhills in Wengen, Switzerland. However, just when a French skier moved into contention for the discipline title, the upcoming two races in France (at Chamonix, 2-3 February) had to be cancelled due to a lack of snow and a too-warm forecast, which left just two more downhills on the discipline schedule for the season -- one in Norway in February, and then the season finals in March. And then Sarrazin was injured during training and had to miss the downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway, which was won by

Niels Hintermann Niels Hintermann (born 5 May 1995) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Bülach, Zürich, he specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. Career Hintermann made his World Cup debut at age 20 in November 2015 at La ...

of Switzerland, while his teammate Odermatt finished seventh and opened a 42-point lead over Sarrazin with just the season finals remaining.

Finals

The season final was scheduled to take place on 24 March at

Saalbach-Hinterglemm Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (district), Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is well known for its skiing and other winter sports. A four ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. For the first time since the finals began in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, the downhill was the last event of the finals instead of the first, with the women's race being held on Saturday and the men's on Sunday. Only the top 25 in the downhill standings and the downhill gold medalist at the Junior World Championships (Livio Hiltbrand of Switzerland) were eligible to compete in the downhill finals, with the exception that any skier who has earned at least 500 points in the overall standings was eligible to compete in any discipline, regardless of his standing in the downhill for the season. Due to the reduced field, only the top 15 earned points. Because Hiltbrand was competing in (and winning, despite starting the final in fifth place) the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

downhill season championship this week, he and the injured Kilde and

Florian Schieder Florian Schieder (born 30 March 1995) is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer and specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. World Cup results Season standings : Race podiums * 0 wins * 2 podiums – (2 DH), 6 top tens {, clas ...

of Italy did not enter finals, while one 500-point skier (

Loïc Meillard Loïc Meillard (; born 29 October 1996) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer and specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Born in Neuchâtel, Meillard made his World Cup debut in January 2015; his younger sister Mélan ...

) did, setting the race field at 25. However, on race day heavy snow and wind caused the final to be delayed by two hours and then cancelled (and not postponed, as it was scheduled for the same day as the season-ending ceremonies). Accordingly, Odermatt, who was leading by 42 points, won the season crown, giving him the overall title and three discipline titles for the season.

Standings

Legend

* * * *DNF = Did not finish *DSQ = Disqualified * * * *

References

External links

Alpine skiing
at FIS website

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2024 Alpine Skiing World Cup - Men's downhill Men's downhill FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's downhill discipline titles

Season summary

Finals

Standings

Legend

See also

References

External links

External links