After the cancelation of the 2023 races in Beaver Creek due to heavy snowfall and strong winds, the Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup makes its return December 1-3, 2024 with Downhill, Super-G, and Giant Slalom races. The Birds of Prey weekend in Beaver Creek has been an iconic part of the Alpine Ski World Cup since 1997.
Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey racecourse was built during the summer of 1997 in preparation for the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships. The racecourse was designed by Olympic Downhill gold medalist Bernhard Russi of Switzerland.
The Birds of Prey was the Men's racecourse for the 2015 World Championships. It is regarded as one of the most difficult Downhill courses in the world.
Bode Miller in 2011 was the last USA skier to win the Men's Downhill in Beaver Creek. Steven Nyman, third in 2014, was the last skier representing the United States to finish on the podium.
In 2017 the race was won by Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, one of his record four Downhill victories (2008, 2013, 2015, and 2017) on the Birds of Prey Downhill. He also won the Super-G in 2008.
Last season, the Men's Downhill Alpine Ski World Cup was an absolutely thrilling battle until the very last second between Marco Odermatt and Cyprien Sarrazin. The French won three Downhill races (Kitzbühel twice and Bormio) and the Swiss two (Wengen twice). The other three winners were Bryce Bennet, Dominik Paris, and Niels Hintermann. The Swiss won the last downhill of the 2023-2024 winter season in Kvitfjell, but he will not be able to repeat the victory this season as he is out of competition due to illness.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde won the last four Men's Alpine Ski World Cup events in Beaver Creek. The Norwegian achieved the speed double in both the 2021-2022 (3-4 December 2021) and 2022-2023 (3-4 December 2022) winter seasons. The winner of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Downhill Crystal Globes will be sidelined for the entire season as he continues to recover from an injury sustained last season.
With seven victories, Norway is the country that has won the most Men's Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill events in Beaver Creek. Austria follows with six victories.
Marco Odermatt won the Men’s Downhill Crystal Globe last season. It's Odermatt’s first Downhill Globe. The Swiss ski Ace also won the Super-G title and secured the speed double.
The last Swiss skier to win the Downhill Crystal Globe was Beat Feuz, who won four in a row between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.
The reigning world champion in the Men's Downhill added the World Cup title to his Overall, Super-G, and Giant Slalom Globes. The last man to win at least four World Cup Crystal Globes in a single season was Hermann Maier in 1999-2000 and 2001-2001 (Overall, Downhill, Giant Slalom, and Super-G in both seasons).
The only Swiss man to win at least four World Cup classifications in a single season was Pirmin Zurbriggen in 1986-1987. He won the Overall, Combination, Super-G, Downhill, and Giant Slalom titles.
Marco Odermatt finished on the podium in six of the eight Downhill events last season including a double win in Wengen. After achieving his first victory on the discipline in the first Downhill held in the Swiss ski resort Marco Odermatt took the double win in the Lauberhorn. Two seventh places in Val Gardena and Kvitfjell Downhills were his worst results.
In 2022, Marco Odermatt finished in second place behind Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the Downhill and Super-G races. He won the Super-G in 2019 and 2021.
Last season Cyprien Sarrazin took the double Downhill win in the Streif in Kitzbühel.
Sarrazin also won the Downhill in The Stelvio in Bormio and finished in second place in the two Downhills held in Wengen. He also won the Super-G in Wengen. Before Bormio, his two previous podium finishes were a victory in the Parallel Slalom in Alta Badia in 2016, and a second place in the Alta Badia Giant Slalom in 2019.
Cyprien Sarrazin was the first French skier to win a Men's Downhill World Cup race since Adrien Théaux won in Santa Caterina on December 29, 2015.
He became the first Frenchman to win multiple Downhill World Cup races in a single season since Antoine Dénériaz won two in 2002-2003.
He finished on the podium in his last five World Cup Downhill starts (1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st).
Dominik Paris finished in third place on the Downhill standings last season.
Paris won the second Downhill held in Val Gardena-Gröden. It was the 22nd career World Cup victory for the 34-year-old Italian skier. It was the first victory for Paris in Val Gardena Gröden.
With 18 victories in Downhill, Dominik Paris is the active male skier who won the most Downhill events in the World Cup. Only Franz Klammer (25), Peter Müller (19), and Stephan Eberharter (18) have won as many World Cup Downhill events among Men as Paris.
Vincent Kriechmayr recorded nine of his 18 World Cup wins in Downhill. His best positions last season were second place in Kvitfjell and two 5th place in Bormio and Wengen. Kriechmayr recorded World Cup Downhill podium finishes in each of the previous seven seasons (2017-2018 to 2023-2024).
Ahead of the speed events in Beaver Creek, Kriechmayer had won nine Super-G and nine Downhill World Cup events. The only Men to have won at least 10 World Cup events in both Super-G and Downhill are Pirmin Zurbriggen (10 SG, 10 DH), Hermann Maier (24 SG, 15 DH) and Aksel Lund Svindal (17 SG, 14 DH).
Kriechmayr finished in fourth place on the Downhill standings last season.
Vincent Kriechmayr's best result in the Downhill in Beaver Creek was second place in 2019. He won the Super-G race in 2017.
Bryce Bennett finished in fifth place on the Downhill standings last season. He won the first Downhill race in Val Gardena-Gröden and placed third in the second race. Bennett has achieved his best results in the Dolomites ski resort: two victories, one-third place, and two-fourth place.
With two victories in the Alpine Ski World Cup, Bryce Bennett could tie Bill Johnson (3) and Steven Nyman (3) for third place on the list of USA Men's Downhill World Cup winners. Daron Rahlves (9) and Bode Miller (8) are first and second.
The last two Downhill races at Beaver Creek, in 2021 and 2022, were won by Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Since the start of 2018, Kilde is the only Norwegian man to have won a World Cup Downhill event. Kilde was close in 2021 to beat the speed record for a Downhill in the Birds of Prey racecourse held by Daron Rahlves. Rahlves' time of 1:39.59 in December 2003 is the fastest in competition for the full course, with an average speed of 98.2 km/h and an average vertical descent of 7.6 m per second.
In 2022, Kilde made it clear at the start of the speed season in Lake Louise and on the Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek that he wanted to successfully defend his Downhill World Cup title. The Norwegian won the second Downhill of the 2022-2023 season ahead of Marco Odermatt (+0.06 seconds) and James Crawford (+0.79).
Beaver Creek Downhill Winners:
2022 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR)
2021 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR)
2019 Beat Feuz (SUI)
2018 Beat Feuz (SUI)
2017 Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
2015 Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
2014 Kjetil Jansrud (NOR)
2013 Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
2012 Christof Innerhofer (ITA)
2011 Bode Miller (USA)
2009 Carlo Janka (SUI)
2008 Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
2007 Michael Walchfofer (AUT)
2006 Bode Miller (USA)
2005 Daron Rahlves (USA)
2004 Bode Miller (USA)
2002 Stephan Eberharter (AUT)
1997 Andreas Schifferer (AUT)
1997 Kristian Ghedina (ITA)
1988 Peter Muller (SUI)
1988 Franz Heinzer (SUI)
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