Bormio: Franzoni and Paris are in the mix at the front

The first training session for the Olympic downhill race took place in Bormio on Wednesday. Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris immediately made their mark.

February 04, 2026

From: dl

The Olympic downhill race will take place on Saturday on the same course as the World Cup course – the legendary Stelvio. Bormio presented itself in the first training run on Wednesday in poor visibility and on a somewhat uneven slope (due to the fresh snowfall in recent days). The Stelvio wasn't as icy and hard as usual, but otherwise the course setting is roughly the same as in the World Cup.

The two Italians, Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris, were among the frontrunners in the initial test. Franzoni was only 16 hundredths of a second behind Wednesday's fastest skier, American Ryan Cochran-Siegle. "The course is perhaps a bit easier than in the World Cup," Franzoni explained afterward at the finish. The Kitzbühel winner is among the favorites in Bormio.

Giovanni Franzoni finished second in the first practice session. © ANSA / MICHAEL BUHOLZER

Stelvio specialist Paris lost just under a second to Cochran-Siegle. The Ultental native is also among the top medal contenders. The remaining Italians – Mattia Casse, Christof Innerhofer, and Florian Schieder – finished in 13th to 15th place. Innerhofer will only be a reserve in the downhill, however. The other four are confirmed for Saturday's race. The bad news from the first training run: Norwegian Fredrik Møller, who suffered a serious crash in Val Gardena in December, had to be airlifted off the mountain again.

Olympic downhill on Saturday

Two more training runs are scheduled in Bormio on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday (starting at 11:30 a.m.), the downhill race on the Stelvio will determine the Olympic medalists. The women's downhill training in Cortina begins on Thursday. Sofia Goggia and her teammates will then compete for gold, silver, and bronze on Sunday.

Olympics in Bormio: Men's 1st Downhill Training

Pos	Name	Country	Time
1.	Ryan Cochran Siegle	USA	1.56,08 Minutes
2.	John Franzoni	ITA	+0,16 seconds
3.	Marco Odermatt	SUI	0,40+
4.	Alexis Monney	SUI	0,66+
5.	dominik paris	ITA/Ulten	0,94+
6.	Vincent Kriechmayr	TUE	1,00+
7.	Franjo von Allmen	SUI	1,01+
8.	Stefan Rogentin	SUI	1,24+
9.	Stefan Babinsky	TUE	1,31+
10.	Jeffrey Read	CAN	1,37+

13.	Mattia Casse	ITA	1,60+
14.	Christoph Innerhofer	ITA/Gais	1,77+
15.	Florian Schieder	ITA/Castelrotto	1,78+