A sensation on the Saslong – and the Azzurri right in the middle of it.

What was that?! The Super-G in Val Gardena on Friday delivered several surprises. Christof Innerhofer was one of them.

19 December 2025

From: dl

Innerhofer is back among the elite. The Gais native, who only celebrated his 41st birthday in Val Gardena on Wednesday, raced to sixth place on Friday with starting number 30.

Inner had even been in the lead after the first two split times. The South Tyrolean, like many other runners, also benefited from the steadily improving lighting conditions on the Saslong.

Christof Innerhofer finished sixth. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

But Innerhofer had already shown the previous day, with an 11th-place finish in the sprint downhill, that he's in good form and has found the ideal setup in Val Gardena this year. However, the Puster Valley native hadn't finished this high in a long time. His last top-five result dates back to February 2021 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen – almost five years ago. Since then, he's never finished better than eighth. Now, in Val Gardena of all places, Innerhofer has shown that he's still got what it takes.

Franzoni's podium debut

As a three-time junior world champion, Giovanni Franzoni has long been considered Italy's greatest skiing talent. However, the young man from Manerba on Lake Garda had only managed a fourth-place finish in the Beaver Creek Super-G up to that point. Now, on the Saslong course, Franzoni has finally broken through to the podium. With a daring run and a powerful lower section, the 24-year-old finished third.

A Czech man surprises everyone

The biggest surprise of the day, however, came from Jan Zabystran. The 27-year-old secured the first ever Czech victory in the men's Ski World Cup. Starting with bib number 29 – just ahead of Innerhofer – he shattered the time of the then-leader, Marco Odermatt, by 22 hundredths of a second. Ironically, Zabystran had never finished higher than eighth before, but the Saslong course has its own unpredictable rules.

Italian Giovanni Franzoni raced onto the podium for the first time. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

Dominik Paris, after his podium finish the previous day, had to settle for 25th place in the Super-G. The other South Tyroleans, Florian Schieder and local favorite Max Perathoner, did not finish. The traditional downhill race on the Saslong course is scheduled for Saturday (11:45 a.m.) to conclude the speed week in Val Gardena.

Keywords Winter sports Alpine skiing Mattia Casse Val Gardena