Giovanni Franzoni secured his first downhill podium finish. © APA/afp / DIMITAR DILKOFF

Franzoni's Wengen party continues – South Tyroleans right in the middle of it

The Wengen downhill race was once again a spectacular event on Saturday. In the end, the South Tyroleans were delighted with a strong overall result, while Giovanni Franzoni's party continued.

17 January 2026

From: det

The Lauberhorn downhill race captivates thousands of fans year after year. The atmosphere in the Bernese Oberland always gives you goosebumps. Saturday was no exception. Even though the longest downhill race of the winter had to be shortened this time due to wind (starting from the Hundschopf), it was a spectacular event that the ski heroes conjured up in the Swiss snow.

Local hero Marco Odermatt once again put on a spectacular show, leaving everyone in the dust with a dream run and claiming his fourth consecutive Wengen downhill title. Vincent Kriechmayr followed just 79 hundredths of a second behind, giving Austria its first downhill podium finish in two years. And in third place went to this season's big breakout star: Giovanni Franzoni.

Marco Odermatt was unbeatable. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

To his Super-G victory on Friday The 24-year-old from Lake Garda had reason to celebrate again on Saturday. This marks the first downhill podium finish of his career. Franzoni started with bib number 28 and, after a courageous and confident run, ultimately had a stroke of luck on his side. Only 0,06 seconds separated third and sixth place. Dominik Paris finished in that sixth position.

Paris is missing by hundredths of a second, Innerhofer is beaming.

The Ultental native, who had been struggling with his injured ankle in recent days, put on a powerful and courageous run, in which a small mistake cost him a podium finish: Paris didn't execute the exit of the Brüggli S perfectly. He was briefly annoyed about this error at the finish, but despite everything, he can be more than satisfied with his performance – especially considering his injury.

Dominik Paris finished sixth. © APA/afp / DIMITAR DILKOFF

Christof Innerhofer wore a beaming smile on his face on Saturday. The Gais native is experiencing a resurgence this year and, despite starting with bib number 37, secured an outstanding 10th place. Following his 6th place in the Val Gardena Super-G and 11th place in the Val Gardena downhill, this is the next top result for the 41-year-old from the Puster Valley, who dreams of his fifth Olympic Games.

Florian Schieder finished the race in 12th place and also delivered a more than respectable performance. With this result, he rounded off the strong overall performance for South Tyrol.

Now the slalom awaits.

The downhill skiers have now finished their races in Wengen and are moving on to Kitzbühel. The Lauberhorn weekend concludes on Sunday with the slalom (10 a.m./13 p.m.).