Kriechmayr Number One in Saalbach

Bib 1 was Number 1 today as Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr continued to plow through the downhill races with yet another victory. He edged Beat Feuz (SUI) by 0.17 seconds, while Mathias Mayer rounded out the podium 0.27 seconds behind his teammate.

It was Kriechmayr’s fourth straight speed victory, coming on the heels of two gold medals in the downhill and super-G in Cortina preceeded by a victory in the super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the weekend before the World Championships. It was Kriechmayr’s ninth career World Cup victory and his third in the downhill.

Compared with yesterday’s stormy weather, today Saalbach offered up dream conditions with blue skies and crisp temperatures, creating optimal conditions for the racers.

Outside the podium the results were also interesting as Dominik Paris finished in fourth place. He led the field after yesterday’s race had to be cancelled after the ninth racer. Meanwhile Marco Odermatt (SUI), with his impressive fifth-place finish, continues to nip at the heels of Alexis Pinturault. He now only trails the all-around French star by 165- points for the Overall World Cup.

Tomorrow Odermatt will have a key chance to close that gap further with the last race of the weekend, a super-G, in Saalbach.

Despite Kriechmayr’s heroics of late, the battle for the downhill discipline globe will come down Feuz and Mayer who will settle the winner at the Finals in Lenzerheide (SUI). Feuz holds a 68-point lead over Mayer and needs no lower than a seventh-place finish at the Finals to secure his fourth downhill globe.

After Saalbach, there are two weekends left in the men’s Audi FIS World Cup calendar with a giant slalom and slalom in Kranjska Gora, followed by the Season Finals in Lenzerheide.