On a race day with stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ingemar Stenmark in attendance, a new Alpine skiing star was born. Giovanni Franzoni, the 24-year-old from Manerba del Garda, Italy, won the fabled Hahnenkamm downhill with a time of 1:52.31.

Conquering “The Streif,” widely regarded as the scariest, most dangerous World Cup course on the planet — thanks to its massive drop out of the starting gate, icy hairpin turns and steep jumps — is a feather in any ski racer’s helmet. Just ask American speedster Bryce Bennett.

“Within the skiing community, an Olympic gold is cool,” the recently named Olympian said. “But winning Kitzbuhel, you’re the man.”

Franzoni was indeed the man on Saturday, besting 57 other competitors exactly two weeks before the downhill in Milan Cortina. The former three-time junior world champion also came in first in both training runs at the venue held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The rise of Franzoni has turned into one of the unlikely and heartwarming stories this World Cup season. While training together in September of 2025, his good friend and teammate Matteo Franzoso (ITA) suffered a major head injury from a crash and tragically passed away. He was 25 years old.

Since then, Franzoni has earned the first four podiums of his career, two of them victories, which include last weekend’s triumph in Wengen, Switzerland (a place where he took a tumble back in 2023 and needed thigh surgery). He’s dedicated each performance to Franzoso.  

“At the start, I had an emotional moment because Mateo, last year was my first time here, and we were in the room together,” Franzoni revealed with tears streaming down his cheeks. “I thought about him and I said, this is the race to dedicate to him because this is the legendary Kitzbuhel. I won this race, and it's the max that I can do for him. 

“I know he is watching right now from the heavens. It's unbelievable.”

Giovanni Franzoni (ITA) soars through the air during a World Cup super-G in Val Gardena, Italy en route to a podium finish.

Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images

Franzoni also shouted out his parents who were in the stands to witness his milestone run, expressing his appreciation for their efforts to help him achieve his dreams.

It was an emotional day for Marco Odermatt (SUI) as well, but for different reasons. He finished second (+0.07), a result that any other Alpine skier on the tour would take in a heartbeat. 

Odi isn’t like any other skier. He’s a 53-time Cup winner, an Olympic gold medalist, a multi-time world champion and a man with 13 Crystal Globes to his name.

However, a downhill victory at The Streif has long eluded him. 

"The downhill in Kitzbuhel is my big goal, I’m still missing that,” he said in 2024. “It’s definitely on my list. I’ve already achieved all the other things. It’s my biggest goal.”

When Odermatt crossed the finish line at the bottom of the piste and looked at his time, his head fell towards his chest and he put his hands on the sides of his helmet. He had come up short again (he’s been a runner-up in Kitzbuhel on three separate occasions), this time by the blink of an eye.

As Franzoni celebrated atop the podium and blew a kiss to the sky, Odermatt stood next to him and cried. It was his 100th career podium, but the heartbreaking recognition of having to wait another year to try to reach Kitzbuhel downhill glory clearly set in.

Frenchman Maxence Muzaton, by contrast, was a happy camper on the podium step, as he rose from the 29th starting position to claim third place (+0.39). He needs 98 more podiums to catch Odi. Piece of cake.

Two Americans finished in the top 20, but they weren’t the names you might expect. Erik Arvidsson (USA), wearing bib number 45, and Wiley Maple (USA) tied for 19th, the best result for either during the 2025-26 Cup campaign.

"It's been insanely rough with injuries, and I've definitely doubted myself the last couple of years trying to fight through all that uncertainty," said Arvidsson who missed significant time with back-to-back ACL tears in 2023-24 and 2024-25. "I know I've been doing well this year given the circumstances, but I've only raced downhill, so it's been hard to find a rhythm, but I've been doing my best to keep fighting all the time. It was a pretty special feeling to cross the finish line."

The four other Americans to start, all of whom were recently selected to join Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games, fell outside of the top 30. Kyle Negomir placed 32nd and 2022 silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle tied for 36th, while Bryce Bennett came in 38th and Sam Morse followed in 39th. 

Kitzbuhel hasn't been kind to Cochran-Siegle over the years. In 2021, the Burlington, Vermont native crashed in the downhill race and fractured his neck. As far as neck fractures go, it was a relatively minor one, but it came at a time when RCS was in the midst of the best skiing of his career, having picked up his first (and only) win and another podium a few weeks prior. 

Fast-forward to 2024, Cochran-Siegle finished one-hundredth of a second behind Odermatt in Kitzbuhel to miss a podium in brutal fashion.

The men return for one more race at the Hahnenkamm on Sunday — a slalom featuring the likes of Atle Lie McGrath (NOR), Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA), Paco Rassat (FRA) and more. Run 1 begins at 4:30 a.m. ET, followed by Run 2 at 7:30 a.m. ET. Both will stream live on Peacock and NBCSN.