Giovanni Franzoni is celebrated by his team. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI

Franzoni surprises himself: "My suitcases were already packed"

Giovanni Franzoni made ski history in Kitzbühel on Saturday. The new Streif king and his teammate Florian Schieder answered questions from SportNews.

24 January 2026

From Kitzbühel

Seven years ago, Dominik Paris sat on the throne in Kitzbühel, while Giovanni Franzoni was still gaining his first experience at FIS level. On Saturday afternoon, the 24-year-old followed in his famous teammate's footsteps, taming the infamous Streif – and, like his idol, mutated into a myth.“He’s a bit of an emotional type,” Florian Schieder described in an interview with SportNews The rising star from Manerba on Lake Garda. As victory gradually became apparent, Franzoni shed many a tear. Schieder stood by him with a broad grin and rejoiced with him.

“Giovanni is a fine fellow, always friendly – ​​and always looks at Domme as if he were a saint,” Schieder continued. It was all the more fitting, then, that Franzoni followed in his idol's footsteps and, after Paris (2013, 2017, 2019), Peter Fill (2016), and Kristian Ghedina (1998), became the fourth Italian to win the downhill in Kitzbühel. “Now he's leaving us in the dust. It's nice to see our guys at the top for once, and not always just the Swiss,” Schieder added.

Franzoni wasn't even thinking about victory.

Since Saturday at the latest, his name has been on everyone's lips, but Franzoni had already caused a stir a week earlier in Wengen. At the classic race in Switzerland, the Italian first won both training runs before celebrating his maiden World Cup victory in the Super-G. A third-place finish in the Lauberhorn downhill was the perfect finishing touch. In Kitzbühel, the number one badge lit up next to his name again in both training runs. Would he repeat the feat? No – he only managed twelfth place in the Super-G.

"To be honest, my suitcases were already packed; I thought I would leave immediately after the race." John Franzoni

“Yesterday he paid the price for setting the fastest times in training; the hype surrounding him was enormous,” Schieder explained. “I had the feeling he let it get to him too much. But today he did all the better.” Franzoni, by the way, hadn't expected to win the double of the Golden Goose award and his own gondola on the Hahnenkamm. “To be honest, my bags were already packed; I thought I'd leave right after the race. Now we'll see what else is possible. One thing at a time.”

Franzoni is trembling – Schieder is right up there at the front.

He couldn't quite grasp his triumph in front of some 45.000 spectators afterwards. "It's a dream, I'm shaking with emotion," said Franzoni. The Super-G result had taken the pressure off his shoulders. "I made a few small mistakes up until the bridge section, but from there on, I think I skied incredibly well." He also drew special motivation from the thought of the late Matteo Franzoso, one of his best friends. "Matteo was on my mind because we shared a room last year. It was the right moment to dedicate the race to him – because everyone wants to win that."

Florian Schieder was once again among the frontrunners. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

The hundredths of a second were on his side that day, with Marco Odermatt following Franzoni by a hair's breadth (0,03 seconds). With Schieder (4th/+0,67), a second Italian even dreamed of the podium, but Frenchman Maxence Muzaton (+0,39), starting with bib number 29, prevented the Kastelruth native from securing his third Kitzbühel podium. "I left some time on the table in the Lärchenschuss section, and then you don't carry the speed as you should. Maybe I was also skiing a bit too smoothly. And when it's such an easy course, everything is just too much," the 30-year-old analyzed. However, he wasn't dwelling on missing out on the Gams. "The result is good; I can keep up with the best. I'm already looking forward to next week," he said, already looking ahead to the World Cup in Crans Montana (January 28th to February 1st).