Bryce Bennett Clinches Unexpected Victory in World Cup Downhill Race

The American skier's second career win comes at Val Gardena, Italy, marking the sixth victory for the U.S. team at the venue.

Bryce Bennett of the United States won the first World Cup men's downhill race of the season at Val Gardena in Italy, beating favorites Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway and Marco Odermatt of Switzerland.
Bennett's victory was a surprise as he started with No 34 bib on a shortened course, finishing with a time of 1min 23.80sec.
This is Bennett's second career win, the first one also being on the same course nearly two years ago.
Bennett's victory marks the sixth for the U.S. team in Val Gardena, following the recent retirement of Steven Nyman who won three downhills and Bode Miller who won a super-G.
The race was rescheduled from the yet-to-be-run Zermatt-Cervinia cross-border event last month due to bad weather.