Florian Schieder was among the fastest in the first practice session. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

World Cup Final: Schieder shines in training

The World Cup Finals begin on Saturday in Norway. The first downhill training runs for both men and women took place two days earlier in Kvitfjell.

March 19, 2026

From: dl

Slovenian Miha Hrobat set the fastest time in the first training run (1:48,34 minutes). Canadian Cameron Alexander and South Tyrolean Florian Schieder followed behind. Schieder, from Kastelruth, was 28 hundredths of a second slower than Hrobat and hopes to cap off his strong downhill World Cup season (five top-ten finishes) with another good result on Saturday.

Dominik Paris was also among the fastest, finishing sixth. The skier from Ultental is considered a true Kvitfjell specialist and has already won six times in the far north. Just last year, Paris won both the downhill and the Super-G in Kvitfjell. Christof Innerhofer and the Italian Giovanni Franzoni finished 11th and 16th respectively in the first training run out of 24 starters.

Swiss skiers Marco Odermatt (15th) and Franjo Von Allmen (24th) have yet to reveal their true potential. Another training run will take place on Friday, before the downhill race on Saturday (10:45 a.m.). The Super-G in Kvitfjell will then be held on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Pirovano is positioning himself

High hopes for a small crystal globe from an Italian perspective lie in the downhill, where Laura Pirovano from Trentino (436 points) currently leads ahead of Germany's Emma Aicher (408). Sofia Goggia has even better chances in the Super-G. The Bergamasque skier is clearly in the lead with 449 points before the final race, ahead of New Zealand's Alice Robinson (386).

Laura Pirovano will compete for her first Crystal Globe on Saturday. © APA/afp / ANDREAS SOLARO

In the first downhill training run on Thursday, Pirovano finished sixth, making her the best Italian skier. She was just under a second behind the fastest skier – Olympic champion Breezy Johnson from the USA. Emma Aicher (16th) didn't show her true potential. The two Val Gardena skiers, Nadia (7th) and Nicol Delago (9th), finished in the top ten.

The women's downhill at the World Cup Finals in Kvitfjell takes place on Saturday starting at 12:30 pm. The Super-G, on the other hand, will be held on Sunday at 10:45 am. These are Italy's only two chances to win a crystal globe this ski season.