Marco Odermatt sets the pace in the Val Gardena snowstorm. © Saslong Classic Club

Val Gardena training: Not perfect, but successful.

The first training session in Val Gardena is complete. Less than ideal weather conditions led to delays and interruptions – but in the end everything went off without any major problems.

16 December 2025

From: cst/fop

The first delay occurred even before the scheduled start. Instead of 11:45 a.m., Adrian Smiseth Sejersted opened the training session at 12:00 p.m. In light snowfall, the next interruption occurred after Stefan Babinsky (bib number 4) failed to finish. His compatriot Stefan Eichberger (20) also crashed out, necessitating brief track maintenance – resulting in another interruption. Furthermore, Mattia Casse had to abandon his run and restarted later (before bib number 43).

At that point, it was already clear that it would be more difficult to push forward with a high starting number in Val Gardena this time. The sun, which normally makes the Saslong faster, wasn't shining.

Odermatt fastest, Paris lurks

Marco Odermatt set the fastest practice time with 2:03.68 minutes. Daniel Hemetsberger (AUT/+0,72 seconds) and Dominik Paris from Ultental (+0,82) followed at a considerable distance. The Americans, often so strong in Val Gardena, showed through Ryan Cochran-Siegle (+0,91) and Bryce Bennett (+1,31) at least in sections that they will be a force to be reckoned with during the long race weekend.

Dominik Paris during the track inspection. © Saslong Classic Club

The weather should improve by then. Good weather is forecast for all three race days – the canceled downhill race from Beaver Creek will be made up on Thursday.

1. Training in Val Gardena: Result