Following weeks of uncertainty with no natural snowfall and a lack of cold temperatures to make snow, winter has finally arrived and the Stifel Birds of Prey, presented by Cloudflare, is set to kick off the Audi FIS Ski World Cup downhill season on Thursday, following two days of downhill training.
With sunshine forecasted to return on Thursday, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), Vail Valley Foundation, Beaver Creek Resort, and the Stifel U.S. Ski Team have moved the downhill race from Friday, December 5th up to Thursday, December 4th at 11 a.m. MST.
Wednesday’s second and final downhill training run provided face shots for the athletes as heavy snow fell throughout the race, with Canada’s Alexander Cameron posting the fastest time of the day. Swiss teammates Alexis Monney and Stefan Rogentin were second and third, respectively. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was the top American in ninth, and Bryce Bennett was in 19th.
“Winter is here officially,” Cochran-Siegle said following his training run. “The snow has definitely picked up. Not the worst thing in the world during a training run…the more snow the better here at Beaver Creek. But it was nice to get another opportunity to ski (the Birds of Prey track).”
Swiss athlete Niels Hintermann is one of the many racers thankful for a second training run opportunity. Hinterman was diagnosed with cancer in February of 2024 and is making his cancer-free return to World Cup racing at Beaver Creek this week.
“I’m looking forward to getting a bit of confidence back and getting fluid into racing,” Hintermann said. “It was a good run, solid run. Here and there a few mistakes, but all in all for those conditions, I’m quite happy.”
Thursday’s downhill race is free for spectators and will stream live on OutsideTV beginning at 10:45 a.m. with the pre-race show.
RESULTS
Men’s downhill training #2
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