STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Sunday dawned clear with temperatures in the upper 20s and only a light breeze at the top of Sun Valley Resort’s Bald Mountain.

It was just what race officials had hoped for Saturday’s 2025 Audi FIS World Cup Finals Downhill, which had to be cancelled because of gusty winds.

Thousands of people who had gone away disappointed that the Downhill was cancelled on Saturday returned on Sunday for the Super-G, filling every seat in the grandstands and taking up every square inch of ground in the stand-up section.

Swiss skier Marco Odermatt proudly hoists his second Crystal Globe of the 2024-25 World Cup season.

And they were not disappointed, as the Super-G offered plenty of excitement on a twisty, turn-y course that started just below the International where the Downhill course had started.

The top 25 male Super-G competitors and the top 25 female Super-G racers twisted and, sometimes teetered their way down the demanding course. One landed on the tips of his skis as if he was on his tiptoes but managed to save himself

A handful caught edges sending them to the ground. But, always, they managed to bounce up and ski off the course, leaving a St. Luke’s helicopter that had flown in to the area just after 9 a.m. sitting idly.

Lukas Feurstein, of Austria, was the fourth man on the course, racing it as if he owned it in 1 minute, 10.96 seconds. Then he nervously waited, waving at the crowd occasionally, to see if his time would hold.

Lukas Fuerstein was elated to finally get his gold medal after waiting for 20 other racers to finish.

It did, his fellow countryman Raphael Haaser finishing just 0.19 seconds behind. Franjo Von Allmen of Switzerland finished third.It was the first World Cup podium finish for an Austrian this year as the Swiss have dominated.

For his win, Feurstein was given the 25-pound Harriman Cup commissioned by the City of Sun Valley to honor Sun Valley’s ski racing heritage when the Harriman Cup was once one of the most coveted trophies in ski racing.

He and Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, who won the Harriman Cup for winning the women’s Super-G, also pocketed $20,000 each in prize money from the City of Sun Valley. The city had planned to give the Harriman Cup to the fastest downhill racers but reverted to Super-G after Saturday’s downhill races were cancelled.

“It was really turn-y,” Feurstein said of the course. “But I think I managed it pretty good.”

Marco Odermatt, center celebrates his season-long title in Super-G with Swiss racer Stefan Rogentin and Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr.

Von Allmen called it a “hell of a ride—not a normal for a men’s Super-G.”

Marco Odermatt didn’t podium in the race, but he collected his second World Cup Crystal Globe of the Finals for accumulating the most Super-G points during the season. He finished 215 points ahead of fellow Swiss racer Stefan Rogentin.  Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria wound up third.

U.S. Ski Team racer Ryan Cochran-Siegle lamented that he didn’t have his best race Sunday.

“I was trying to create speed and trying to ski dynamically. But I think I gave the hill too much respect--I was just overdoing it a little bit.

Spuddy Buddy, the Idaho Potato Commission’s mascot tilts in front of a screen showing the crowd.

But Cochran-Siegle, who has raced in numerous races in Sun Valley during the U.S. Alpine Championships, had nothing but praise for Sun Valley’s World Cup efforts.

“It's great. A quality World Cup. And the downhill, super-G course is a good challenge. It's a unique slope, and the course crew here has done a phenomenal job. I grew up in the East, so nothing compares to, you know, no mountain back there compares to here.

Cochran-Siegle said the course surface held up well despite warming temperatures.

“This is a wonderful venue and the great crowd here in the environment here is everything you could ask for. I'm hoping all the fans had fun, and it’s very cool that Lindsay got a podium today. You can get unlimited skiing here, wonderful snow. It's a great town, a great place to be. And I'm so glad that the world gets to see how great Sun Valley is.”

Cochran-Siegle said the U.S. team has some work to do heading into an Olympic year.

“I think we show that we have speed, but there's work to be done. I think we started off hot and we didn't really carry that momentum.”

The men’s next race will be the giant slalom on Wednesday, a day after the women’s giant slalom.