Six days before the men’s downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Ryan Cochran-Siegle secured a statement podium at the World Cup event in Crans Montana, Switzerland (+0.70). 

The Burlington, Vermont native, who wore bib no. 14, nearly overtook Dominik Paris (ITA) (the eventual runner-up), holding the green light time advantage in every sector of the race except for the final one. Ultimately, he couldn’t quite edge the Italian speedster, finishing five-hundredths of a second behind him. 

The third place finish was RCS’ second podium of the 2025-26 season — the other came in Beaver Creek in December — and the fifth of his career.

The next stop for America’s top downhill athlete is Bormio, Italy, where he will look to repeat his Olympic medal effort. At the Beijing Games in 2022, he earned silver in the super-G, and was the lone American, man or woman, to take home hardware. 

Bormio is also the site of Cochran-Siegle’s first and only World Cup victory in 2020. 

“I could run the full downhill right now in my head, even knowing how the course deteriorates,” he told NBC Sports. “Having that familiarity, knowing where you need to be pushing, whether it’s line, aerodynamics, physicality, those types of things will be important in trying to put down the best run of my life.”

The 33-year-old noted his hankering for Olympic downhill gold, a career goal he may only have an opportunity or two left to satiate. He’ll have his hands full come race day with the likes of Marco Odermatt (SUI), Paris, Giovanni Franzoni (ITA), Franjo Von Allmen (SUI) and more vying for the same accomplishment.

Speaking of Von Allmen, it was déjà vu for the rising Swiss superstar, who emerged victorious in the Crans Montana downhill on Sunday for the second year in a row. His time of 1:55.00 bested 59 other competitors. 

With the win, the Swiss fans left the piste happy once again, as 24 hours prior, local hero Malorie Blanc (SUI) triumphed in the women’s super-G at Crans Montana  — the ski resort where 40 people died and 115 were injured in a New Year’s Eve fire one month ago today. The weekend gave the hometown crowd something to celebrate. 

36-year-old Dominik Paris came in second on Sunday (+0.65), tallying his 52nd career Cup podium. The soon-to-be five-time Winter Olympian and medal contender will lead a deep Italian team into Milan Cortina that includes Franzoni, Alex Vinatzer and Mattia Casse.

Marco Odermatt (SUI) finished right behind Cochran-Siegle in fourth (+0.79), narrowly missing the podium. It was the 53-time Cup winner’s first speed race following his disappointing (yes, disappointing) second-place result in the Kitzbuhel downhill — the Super Bowl of the World Cup season and the one career accolade (winning it, that is) that has eluded him. 

The Olympic gold medalist and four-time defending Crystal Globe champion remains way out in front (in points) in the downhill, super-G and giant slalom categories, making Odi the prohibitive favorite in each event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) returned to the slopes on Sunday for his first Cup race since Livigno in late December, finishing 40th. 

The two-time Olympic medalist elected not to start in Wengen or Kitzbuhel, which boast two particularly difficult courses, as he tries to regain peak form. Wengen is where Kilde, the fiancé of Mikaela Shiffrin, endured a career-threatening crash, dislocating his shoulder and sustaining nerve damage in his right calf due to a deep laceration.

Complications to the injuries — an infection in his shoulder and sepsis — kept him out of action for a grand total of 684 days. He’ll represent Norway at the 2026 Winter Games.

American Bryce Bennett, who will ski for Team USA in Milan Cortina, claimed his best result of the season, finishing 18th. Kyle Negomir (USA) and Sam Morse (USA), set to make their Olympic debuts next week, placed 40th and 50th, respectively.

About three-fourths of the way into the downhill, a race interruption occurred when Henrik Von Appen (CHI) crashed in the third sector of his run. Medical professionals tended to the fallen racer who ultimately was airlifted off the piste. The delay lasted nearly 30 minutes.

The next time the world’s elite Alpine skiers compete will be at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The first event is the men’s downhill, taking place on Feb. 7 at 5:30 a.m. ET, streaming live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.