Lindsey Vonn secures third-straight World Cup downhill podium in Val d’Isere

Lindsey Vonn secured her third-straight World Cup downhill podium on Saturday morning in Val d’Isere, France. And for the third race in a row, mistakes may have cost her the victory.

“I wish I would have skied a little bit better today,” said the 41-year-old, who was just one-hundredth off the lead at the fourth time check. “I thought I executed the middle section, where I didn’t ski well in the training runs, but on the bottom I made a big mistake and lost a lot of time.”

Cornelia Huetter managed Saturday’s flat light with mistake-free skiing throughout the lower section of the 2,807-meter course to secure her 10th-career victory. The 33-year-old Austrian, who won the downhill globe in 2024, completed the Oreiller-Killy course — named after French ski legends Henri Oreiller and Jean-Claude Killy — in a time of 1 minute, 41.54 seconds.

“Today I didn’t have much expectation about my speed but it turned out I’m really fast,” said Huetter, who was 21st and 26th in the first two downhills of the year. “That counts for racing, so maybe I need some pressure inside of me to put everything out (there), and today I did it.”

Kira Weidle-Winklemann pushed out of the gate first and posted the fastest final sector to slot into second.

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“I didn’t expect a podium with that run,” Weidle-Winkelmann told FIS. “The top part was quite good but the middle section, I thought I was holding too much on the line, so that’s where Conny also gained a lot of time.”

The German was quickest in Friday’s training run.

“I had a good feeling in the trainings so I know I could perform well but I also knew that Sofia and Lindsey and everyone are all great skiers,” she continued. “But you see today that they also make mistakes, they are also human beings, so it’s nice to see that I can ski fast.”

Gunning out of the gate in bib eight on a course she’s claimed a record seven victories, Vonn was 0.22 off the pace after the first section but landed smoothly off the first jump and picked up speed rapidly. The former Vail resident stayed tight through the La Compression double turns and blasted the fourth interval to move into first. Coming off the La Traversée, however, Vonn flew outside the lines on the sweeping right turn. Even though she was pushed wide and appeared to briefly lose control of her pole grip, she regained her tuck and came into the final jump with an 0.11 advantage on Weidle-Winkelmann. But the German was quickest over the final sector, a split which propelled her to her seventh-career podium.

“I was mad at myself for making that mistake but in general I’m really happy with my skiing,” Vonn said regarding her approach near the bottom. “I have another podium and I still have the red bib, so there’s a lot to be happy about.”

The third-place finish gave Vonn a record 69 downhill podiums. She won the season-opening race in St. Moritz by 0.98 seconds — the third-largest winning gap for a women’s or men’s downhill race since the 2016-2017 season — and placed second the following day. She was also fourth in the super-G, but said the emotional fatigue from the unexpected victory took its toll over the Swiss speed opener. On Saturday, Vonn wasn’t the only top athlete to veer from the ideal line. Sofia Goggia built up a nearly half-second lead before losing control in the middle section, ultimately finishing eighth. Errors added up for defending world champion Breezy Johnson (seventh), Laura Pirovano (fifth) and Magdalena Egger (24th) as well.

The U.S. put six skiers into the top-30. Behind Vonn and Johnson, Jacqueline Wiles, Allison Mollin, Haley Cutler and Keely Cashman finished 15th, 22nd, 27th and 28th, respectively. Isabella Wright and Tricia Mangan came through in 34th and 37th in the 50-skier field. The World Cup speed weekend in Val d’Isere concludes with a super-G on Sunday.

“I’m just looking to improve myself every day, every race,” Vonn said. “And I know I can do better so tomorrow, hopefully, I will be able to ski without any mistakes. That’s my goal.”