01/16/26 07:53:00
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01/16 07:51 CST Giovanni Franzoni's win in Wengen super-G makes him an Olympic
contender for host Italy
Giovanni Franzoni's win in Wengen super-G makes him an Olympic contender for
host Italy
WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) --- Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing
with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away.
Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn
course in a super-G Friday --- four months after his close friend and former
roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.
The 24-year-old Franzoni --- a former world junior champion in super-G,
downhill and Alpine combined --- was the first racer on course and took
advantage of the No. 1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run.
Reaching a top speed of 140.44 kph (87 mph), Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds
ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion
Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.
Franzoni handled the tricky Canadian Corner and Kernen S sections on the upper
portion of the course cleaner than anyone else.
"I made the difference on the turn where I crashed a few years ago," he said,
referring to his season-ending fall in a super-G in 2023 that resulted in thigh
surgery.
Swiss overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, a four-time winner in Wengen,
placed fourth, 0.53 behind.
The top American was Ryan Cochran-Siegle in sixth.
Franzoni also led both downhill training sessions and could be a contender in
the classic downhill on Saturday. His previous best World Cup finish was third
in a super-G on home snow in Val Gardena last month.
Now Franzoni will be among the leaders for Italy's team in Bormio, where men's
Alpine skiing will be contested during the Olympics.
"If you had told me that I would be third in Val Gardena and then win here ---
on the two courses that I've had the most trouble on --- I wouldn't have
believed it," Franzoni said.
The opening ceremony for the Games is scheduled for Feb. 6.
"I don't know about the future, but the present has changed," Franzoni said.
"We always live day by day. I carry the memory of Matteo Franzoso with me at
every race."
Marco Schwarz, the Austrian who won the previous super-G in Livigno, Italy,
last month, missed the race due to sickness.
Also sitting out this weekend is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian
standout who returned this season after a horrific crash in Wengen two years
ago.
"This year," Kilde said on Instagram this week, "it's just a little too early."
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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