Justin Murisier caused a surprise by winning the downhill in Beaver Creek and thus his first World Cup race. The Swiss left his compatriot Marco Odermatt behind. The Slovenian Miha Hrobat also surprisingly came third. The German drivers were disappointed.
In 1:40.4 minutes, Murisier defeated the feared “Birds of Prey” in Copper Mountain. The 32-year-old man from Valais drove flawlessly and was even faster than last winter’s dominator, Marco Odermatt (+0.20 seconds). Miha Hrobat’s third place (+0.35 seconds) was also a surprise.
Last season’s downhill kings are not yet in top form
Marco Odermatt, who confidently won the overall World Cup last season, lost time, especially in the last part of the route. At the finish, the Swiss was annoyed about second place, but at the same time he was able to be happy with his compatriot and friend Murisier. Cyprien Sarrazin, who won both downhill runs on the Streif in Kitzbühel last winter, also fell short of expectations. The Frenchman came ninth (+1.03 seconds).
Hard fall from Boisset
It was actually a top result from a Swiss perspective, but Arnaud Boisset fell badly. The 26-year-old lost his balance after a jump and hit his head on the slope. He then slipped into a safety net on the side of the track. The race was interrupted for more than twenty minutes. Matthieu Bailet had previously fallen. The Frenchman was able to leave the piste on his own feet.
German drivers disappoint
Then came the German drivers, all of whom were disappointing. Despite promising training performances, Simon Jocher only finished 29th (+2.51 seconds) ahead of Romed Baumann (+2.54 seconds). Both later slipped out of the top 30. Luis Voigt (+2.74 seconds) also did not collect any World Cup points.