American skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle posted the fastest time in the opening men's downhill training session ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The session took place on the challenging Stelvio slope in Bormio, Italy, on February 4, 2026. A Norwegian skier was airlifted to hospital after a crash during the run.
The first official training for the men's downhill event unfolded on February 4, 2026, in Bormio, Italy, setting the stage for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. U.S. skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, a 2022 super-G silver medalist and son of 1972 Olympic slalom champion Barbara Ann Cochran, led the field with the quickest time. He finished 0.16 seconds ahead of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni and 0.40 seconds faster than Switzerland's Marco Odermatt.
Canada's Jeffrey Read placed 10th, 1.37 seconds behind Cochran-Siegle, while teammates Cameron Alexander and Brodie Seger finished 20th and 21st, respectively, over two seconds off the pace. Jack Crawford was 28th and Riley Seger 34th. The session highlighted the Stelvio slope's demands: 3,230 meters long, with a 986-meter vertical drop, a maximum 63 percent gradient, and speeds reaching 140 kph. Shaded sections and unforgiving terrain make it one of the toughest Olympic courses in recent decades.
The day was marred by an incident involving Norway's Fredrik Moeller, who crashed midway down after mishandling a turn. The 25-year-old, recently recovered from breaking three vertebrae in December, stood up but appeared to have a dislocated shoulder. He was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Sondrio. Bormio, a regular World Cup venue, saw similar incidents in December 2024, including one requiring brain surgery.
This training is the first of three before Saturday's race. Participants included skiers from multiple nations, such as Monaco's Arnaud Alessandria, Austria's Lukas Feurstein, Canada's James Crawford, Latvia's Elvis Opmanis, Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin and Alexis Monney, Italy's Dominik Paris, Norway's Adrian Smiseth Sejersted, Germany's Simon Jocher, Slovenia's Martin Cater, the U.S.'s Bryce Bennett, and Switzerland's Niels Hintermann.
