Florian Schieder (right) celebrates with Val Gardena winner Franjo von Allmen. © Alessandro Trovati/Pentaphoto

Gröden-Held Schieder: “The party won’t be too short”

Florian Schieder's sensational podium finish in the downhill at the World Cup in Val Gardena caused pure ecstasy. The Kastelruth native answered questions in an interview with SportNews.

20 December 2025

From St. Christina in Val Gardena

All good things come in threes – in Florian Schieder's case, quite literally. The 29-year-old celebrated a third-place finish in the third race of the Val Gardena World Cup week. the third podium finish of his careerOn Saturday afternoon, only the two Swiss skiers Franjo von Allmen (1:58.67 minutes) and Marco Odermatt (2nd/+0,30 seconds) were faster on the Saslong course. "I still can't believe it..." Schieder explained with a broad grin in an interview. SportNews.

In St. Christina, the skier from Kastelruth was required not only to demonstrate mastery on the slopes, but also nerves of steel in the finish area. He had to endure some tense moments, especially during the runs of Nils Alphand (4th/+1,00) and Alessio Miggiano (5th/+1,04), both of whom missed the podium by mere hundredths of a second despite their higher starting numbers. Such late attacks are not uncommon for Val Gardena, and Schieder took it all in stride. "These kinds of situations aren't exactly pleasant," he laughed at the seemingly endless suspense.

Schieder ignores all complaints

In the end, luck was on his side. Schieder hadn't started the day in the best shape. "I felt really bad this morning. I hadn't slept well, so my neck hurt, and then I got a headache," he said, adding jokingly: "Dominik (Paris, ed.) even suggested I swap my coffee for a pack of painkillers. But by the time I pushed myself out of the starting gate, I didn't feel a thing."

Marco Odermatt, Franjo von Allmen and Florian Schieder. © ANSA / LUCIANO SOLERO

Schieder achieved his first two career podium finishes on the infamous Streif in Kitzbühel (2023, 2024). Now he's reached the podium in front of his home crowd. "This is simply amazing. Making it here shows that I put in the work over the summer. Domme was also a great help during my preparation, giving me tips that I can now put into practice regularly."

"My brothers were standing by the camel humps, and there are surely a few more from my village here. The party will certainly not be short." Florian Schieder

And how does one celebrate a World Cup podium finish in their hometown? "My brothers were at the camel humps, and I'm sure a few more from my village are here," Schieder replied when asked about his supporters in Santa Cristina. "The party will definitely be long."

Paris is wasting time at the camel humps.

Paris finished three places behind his teammate (6th/+1,11). He had mixed feelings about his performance. "It depends: if I look at the time, I'm not satisfied. If I look at the position, I can be. But the gap is a bit too big," said the 36-year-old from Ulten. "I'm sure I could have shaved off half a second to three-quarters of a second in the upper sections, but I wasn't ideal on the camel humps and entering the Ciaslat."

Christof Innerhofer fell far behind after a mistake. © ANSA / ANDREA SOLERO

For Christof Innerhofer, an eventful Speed ​​World Cup came to an end. On Thursday, the 41-year-old raced to eleventh place in the sprint downhill, and in the Super-G he even managed a very strong sixth place. However, a mistake on his inside ski proved his undoing in the downhill (54th/+5,34).

“I lost my rhythm a bit on the camel humps because one wave threw me too far to the left. I was finally cruising through the Ciaslat, had good speed. Then I felt like I was too deep – and that's when it happened,” he analyzed his run. But he's not letting that dampen his spirits. “I'm taking a lot of positives away from this weekend: a great feeling, the equipment was perfect, and I felt comfortable – and the crowd was simply amazing. I really enjoyed it,” he emphasized.

Perathoner: "It was brutally loud at my place"

Wearing bib number 54, Max Perathoner from Wolkenstein finally took to the starting line – and despite a brief scare just before the finish, he crossed the line safely (44th/+2,87). "I'm glad I made it to the finish on my feet," he said after the sixth World Cup race of his career. "It's one of the best, if not the best, days of my life. Despite the mistakes, I'm very satisfied." Perathoner was particularly pleased with the noise from the home fans. "When the others started, it was a bit loud. When I started, it was incredibly loud. I'm very, very grateful; it was a wonderful day," he said.