Florian Schieder was delighted with his podium finish. © Pentaphoto

Podium salvation! Florian Schieder sends Val Gardena into a frenzy.

The Val Gardena speed week concluded on Saturday with the infamous downhill race. And from a South Tyrolean perspective, it ended with a real bang.

20 December 2025

From: det

On Friday, a visibly dejected Florian Schieder left the finish area in Val Gardena. After a disastrous Super-G, the skier from Kastelruth seemed at a loss. But now, 24 hours later, the world looks completely different: The 29-year-old fulfilled a dream in the legendary Val Gardena downhill, racing onto the podium in third place! Schieder (+0,98 seconds) was only beaten by winner Franjo von Allmen and Marco Odermatt (+0,30 seconds), both of whom were in a league of their own.

For Schieder, this third place is a relief – for two reasons. Firstly, because it's the likeable downhill skier's first top-three finish in almost two years. Secondly, because it's the first time he hasn't reached the podium in Kitzbühel. His two previous podium finishes were all in the Alpine town: he came second in January 2023 and January 2024.

The podium men are letting loose, from left: Franjo von Allmen, Florian Schieder and Marco Odermatt. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

Schieder put in a blistering run on the incredibly fast Saslong course on Saturday. Although the skier from Kastelruth lost some time to the leading duo of Allmen and Odermatt in the upper section, he steadily picked up speed and ultimately finished in third place. The South Tyrolean also had the necessary hundredths of a second of luck on his side: fourth-place finisher Nils Alphand (France) was only two hundredths of a second behind Schieder, and fifth-place finisher Alessio Miggiano (Switzerland/bib number 43) was only five hundredths.

After a long period of suspense (in Val Gardena, runners with high bib numbers often cause surprises), Schieder was finally able to celebrate his podium finish. "Now the party can begin," said the South Tyrolean, who lives just a 15-minute drive from Santa Cristina and was therefore able to greet many friends in the finish area.

Paris back in the lead, Innerhofer's blunder

Dominik Paris could also be satisfied, as he underlined his strong form with a sixth-place finish. The 2023 Val Gardena winner kept pace with Odermatt and von Allmen for a long time, but then made a crucial mistake on the Ciaslat. Sixth place (and only 13 hundredths of a second behind the podium) is still a respectable result. The Italians delivered a strong performance overall on Saturday: Mattia Casse finished eighth, and Giovanni Franzoni came in twelfth.

Dominik Paris finished a strong sixth. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

Christof Innerhofer posted strong split times at the top, but a major mistake dropped him to the back of the standings. The skier from Gais, who had a great performance on Friday with a sixth-place finish in the Super-G, crossed the finish line five seconds behind. Max Perathoner also missed out on points.

Now we're off to Alta Badia

That concludes the speed week in Val Gardena. The ski entourage now moves to the other side of the mountain, namely to Alta Badia. The giant slalom is scheduled for Sunday, followed by the slalom on Monday. Start times are 10:00 AM (first run) and 1:30 PM (final run).