Von Allmen and Paris shine
Von Allmen (SUI/Head) also impressed. He was smoother than Odermatt, hitting his landings perfectly, taking lots of risks without losing control, and staying relaxed. But his speed wasn’t quite up there, and he finished +0.15 adrift of his teammate.
“It was difficult today with the delays, but I felt pretty comfortable at the start,” he said. “The start was not so good, but the rest was pretty OK, so I’m comfortable with my skiing today.”
As ever, he was enjoying Switzerland’s overall team success. “It’s really cool when we have Marco and all the other guys in the team, when they do a great performance,” he said. “It’s pretty much like last year. Marco is in front of me, at the start of a great season, so I’ll take it. A day like this, I’m pretty happy.”
Paris put down a powerhouse performance at top of slope, but was pushed out of position mid-course and lost a little time. He showed grit to recover and get into third place, +0.19 seconds adrift of Odermatt.
“My sensation was not so nice, but it was a good run, it was really fast, and I tried to push and stay on the line, keep good speed,” said Paris. “I had a little mistake, but I am happy.”
He is relishing Saturday’s longer Downhill – the equivalent of which he won in December 2023. “I am happy, if I am fast on the lower part, that is a good sign because I can do something more on the upper part.
“Hopefully I am in good shape and my body feels relaxed enough for Saturday.”
Elsewhere, Nils Allegre (FRA/ Salomon) put down a great run to finish fourth, as he continues his comeback.
“I made a mistake at the top and you can’t afford to make mistakes, but I’m very happy with fourth and we are lucky to have two chances at this race,” he said.
The Val Gardena triple header continues with a Super G on Friday, and the classic, full-length Downhill on Saturday.