Winter came and so did the Skiing World Cup. On the 4th; 5th and 6th of December the best male skiers in the world will head to Beaver Creek, Colorado, to challenge each other. Right after Copper Mountain, the men will face another competitive American slope to test their ambitions.
How does the Skiing World Cup works
The World Cup will be held in 30 different locations. The men’s schedule counts 38 events while the women will race 37 times. We have already had a couple of dates. In Solden, on the 26th of October, at the beginning of the season, Marco Odermatt won the giant slalom. In Levi, Finland, the Brazilian Lucas Braathen triumphed in the slalom. The competitors are simply warming up at the moment, but the World Cup will heat up quite soon. This year is pretty important after all, since we will have the Olympic Games next February.
Braathen may be one of the surprises. He has a large number of supporters and seems quite determined to show everyone that even Brazilians can ski. He was born in Norway, of course, but he always felt Brazilian. Regarding interesting newcomers, Switzerland has seen the emergence of a supernova named Franjo von Allmen, winner of three races and with four podium finishes in his debut season. Not a bad calling card. Will the enfant prodige be able to unseat the champion and national teammate Odermatt, who dominates the World Cup since 2022? For those ready to bet on it, the free bet offers linked here are a good incentive to bet without spending their own money. Check out all the promos and bonuses for new and existing customers.
The track
Birds of Prey track at Beaver Creek is one of the most technical racetracks in the World Cup. It is a pretty modern slope, since it was renewed in 1999, before that year’s World Cup. The design was signed by Bernhard Russi, an ex-skier from Switzerland that is today one of the most prominent slope designers in the world and personally restyled most of the racetracks where the World Cup is held. The slope starts at 3483 metres, in an environment full of trees, and becomes pretty fast after 20-30 metres. There, the skier finds 8 dangerous turns and must stay cautious and aware, because this slope may be quite unforgiving. Just ask Marco Odermatt: the superchampion found a lot of difficulties here last year.
The mid-point of the slope is easier, because it’s not that steep, but then the athlete enters the Golden Eagle portion, where the giant slalom is held. Here is located the most technical part and the competitors must manage their energies well because they may be fatigued and risk some mistake. In alpine skiing, a single fall may mean the end of the World Cup for the unlucky athlete.
The favourites to win
Frankly, you might be pretty bold to not put Odermatt in pole position each and every time you talk about alpine skiing. He is amazing as ever and tends to be quite unplayable when he is in top shape. He does seem to be at that level, this year. Von Allmen and Braathen could do well, of course, since they started as best as they could, while Alexis Monney; Dominik Paris and the men from Norway (Henrik Kristoffersen; Alexander Steen Olson and Atle Lie McGrath) are thought to be slightly behind.
Where to watch the race
The race at Beaver Creek may be watched in live streaming on DAZN; Amazon Prime and Discovery+. These are your channels of choice to watch alpine skiing, plus Eurosport if you happen to live or stay in Europe. On those same wavelengths you’ll be able to experience the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, which are only two months and a half away now.