Thomas Tumler completed a Swiss sweep of victories at the 2024 Stifel Birds of Prey, winning Sunday’s giant slalom with a time of 2:24.60 to close out the weekend. It was his first career FIS World Cup victory, which came by a slim .12-second margin over Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who now races for Brazil. Zan Kranjec of Slovenia finished third, .58 off the pace.
Marco Odermatt, the Swiss star who dominated in this discipline the last two seasons, failed to finish the second run. After winning nine of 10 GS races last season, and 12 consecutive dating back to March 2023, he has now been a DNF for three successive races — the season finale last March, and both races to date in 2024-25. Odermatt had a lead midway through the first run, and then faded back to eighth before struggling in the second run not far into the course.
Braathen, who left the Norwegian team prior to the start of the 2023-24 season after a long dispute with that ski federation, broke out in a dance in the finish area. Born to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, the 24-year-old spent six months ironing out details to switch his racing affiliation to his mother’s native country and announced his return to racing in March. It has been close to two years since Braathen was last on a giant slalom podium, and the first time under the Brazilian flag.
“What a moment to break out a dance, in front of all these amazing fans,” said Braathen, “I came here to be myself, and hopefully to be an inspiration to the outcasts out there, to the people that feel a bit different to get to follow their own path. I think it’s such a privilege to be the first one to bring the Brazilian flag — something I’m so proud of — up to a winter sport World Cup podium.
“I’m just beyond grateful to everyone who has supported me,” he continued.
But by any measure, the Swiss had a dominant series of races, with Justin Murisier taking Friday’s downhill, Odermatt securing the super-G on Saturday, followed by Tumler’s GS victory on Sunday. Not since 2009 has one nation swept the top of the podium, when another Swiss racer, Carlo Janka, won all three races (super combined, downhill, and giant slalom).
Tumler, who in 2018 vaulted from the 48th starting spot to finish third at this event, couldn’t initially see the scoreboard when he came across the line, relying instead on the crowd reaction. “Finally, I saw green and I was really happy,” said Tumler, who recently turned 35.
Local product River Radamus, who grew up in nearby Edwards, was the only American to score Sunday, finishing in seventh, 1.69 off Tumler. Under the flip-30 format, in which racers depart in reverse order of their first run finish, he held the lead for several racers. “I was a little bit disappointed after the first run,” said Radamus. “I felt good, but it’s called hero snow for a reason, so I knew I had to redline it a bit more in the second run. I had a couple of big mistakes, but I kept it rolling to the finish.”
“My first World Cup ever was here at Beaver Creek (in 2017), but I didn’t score (points). I still have…a good result in front of my home crowd on my list of things to check off,” Radamus added. “But to come home with a top 10 feels pretty cool.”
The race was the first giant slalom held at the venue since 2019 — five years to the day — when American Tommy Ford collected his only World Cup victory. Ford did not finish the first run after running into trouble midway down the course, and was forced to exit. No races were held in 2020 due to COVID-19, and subsequent race weeks were centered on speed events only as FIS officials worked to mitigate any potential lingering issues due to the pandemic.
Other American results: Patrick Kenny qualified for the second run, but did not finish. Isaiah Nelson did not qualify, and Tommy Ford, Bridger Gile and Ryder Sarchett failed to finish the first run.
Racing resumes in Beaver Creek on Saturday, Dec. 14 with the Stiefel Birds of Prey women’s downhill, followed by a super-G on Sunday, Dec. 15.
RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom
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