The victory makes us team member Lindsey Vonn, the oldest skier in history to win a World Cup race. She's 41. Downhill, is the fastest, most thrilling alpine event where skiers race solo down a long, steep course, sometimes hitting speeds of 80 miles per hour.
Oldest skier in the history of our sport to win a World Cup race. She does not care about that. And the mistake takes its toll on the clock. She's 0.15 now off the pace of the leading Olympian Sophia Goggia.
The queen of speed returned to competition last season after retiring from racing six years earlier. Injuries pushed her out of the course, but a successful surgery in planting titanium plates in her knee in the spring of 2024 put her back in the starting gate that November last season. She built momentum, saying she just wanted back in the game, obviously with her sights set on the Olympic Winter Games coming up this February in Italy. Friday in Switzerland, she won the downhill by almost a second, an eternity in the sport. It was her 83rd World Cup win and the first since her comeback began.
In the weekend's second downhill on Saturday, Vonn stormed in second, five one-hundredths ahead of third-place Sophia Goggia from Italy. Downhill world champion Breezy Johnson of the US team was close behind in fourth place. Vonn wrapped up the weekend by finishing fourth in the Super G on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn recorded her first World Cup victory in 2004. She skied on to win three Olympic Medals, 20 World Cup titles, eight World Championship medals, 137 World Cup podiums, including her 82 first-place wins. She stepped off the World Cup tour after 18 seasons until last year.
Vail star skier Mikaela Shiffrin also raced in the Super G on Sunday. It was her first time in a speed event since a crash at Cortina in Italy damaged her left knee almost two years ago. Sunday, she missed the final gate and disqualified just before crossing the finish line, only about a second behind the winning time. The women are back on the snow on Tuesday with a night slalom in Courchevel, France.
On the men's team, River Radamus, the up-and-comer from Edwards, matched last week's Birds of Prey career best over the pond to post another sixth place at Valdes Air in France. Ryder Sarchett slid in at 10th place, his best World Cup results so far, and his first World Cup points. Sarchett was the Junior World's giant slalom champion.
