Frenchman Antoine Deneriaz won the first World Cup of his career, capturing a downhill where Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) had the top U.S. result, finishing 11th as three U.S. skiers were in the top 20. Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) was 14th and Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was 19th for the second DH in a row.

Deneriaz was timed in 1:55.95 before Austrians, led by Michael Walchhofer in second place and Josef (Pepi) Strobl in third, filled seven of the next eight places. It was the first downhill victory by a French racer in over four years.

Rahlves was 11th with a time of 1:56.77. Sullivan finished in 1:57.03 with Miller clocked in 1:57.29. Jake Fiala (Frisco, CO) was 35th.

"It wasn't the best day," DH/SG Head Coach John McBride said later, "but there were some good things to take out of it. This was Daron's best finish ever in Val Gardena [previous best: 19th in DH-2 a year ago] and Marco skied like a stud again on top, but then he had a crucial mistake; he was in the money, so that was tough. But Marco's racking up points and to end up in the top 15 even with that mistake…he's so close to being 'there' each race. He blew it in the Ciaslat [in the mid-section]; he was just a tenth of a second off Walchhofer coming into the Ciaslat, so he lost some serious time, probably nine-tenths of a second, maybe a full second to the finish. And Bode has a major mistake in the Ciaslat as well."

McBride had strong praise for Fiala, who had struggled for the past two seasons but, after shifting to Atomic Skis, has "moved up to a new level. He's been doing well all along and I think Jake's proven this is where he belongs. It's good to see him doing so well after all of his work."

"(Fiala has) moved up to a new level. He's been doing well all along and I think Jake's proven this is where he belongs." — U.S. DH/SG Head Coach John McBride

"The snow was softer today; it wasn't hard and rattle-y. It was an interesting because the light was diffused – there were no advantages in terms of visibility, as opposed to [Friday's super G where 15 of the top 30 finishers started beyond no. 30]," McBride said.

The next men's race is a giant slalom Sunday in Alta Badia. McBride said Sullivan, in his first full season on the World Cup scene, would return to Lake Tahoe for some holiday time with family while Rahlves and Miller will race - and Fiala watch - the traditional stop in Alta Badia, then the three will head to Bormio, Italy, for the next downhill Dec. 29.

— Courtesy U.S. Ski Team, with additional material from MountainZone.com staff