Today’s Downhill podium at Val d’Isere: Conny Hütter 1st, Kira Weidle-Winkelmann 2nd, and Lindsey Vonn 3rd. | Image: FIS Alpine IG
The women’s Downhill at Val d’Isère on Saturday, December 20, delivered exactly what fans have come to expect from the O.K. course: speed, drama, and razor-thin margins. Austria’s Conny Hütter took the win, Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann claimed a long-awaited return to the podium in second, and Lindsey Vonn continued her remarkable comeback with a third-place finish—her third podium in three Downhills this season. With her podium, Vonn remains in the lead in the Downhill standings for the 2025-26 season.
Hütter, Weidle-Winkelmann, and Vonn at presentation. | Image: FIS Alpine IG
Weidle-Winkelmann set the early benchmark from bib 1, capitalizing on her fastest training run from Friday to stop the clock at 1:41.80. It was a time that immediately looked competitive, especially given that Sofia Goggia’s (the Queen of Speed) fastest training run earlier in the week had been a 1:41.77. How competitive the time was remained to be seen, as skier after skier came down the mountain. Some were quicker through the top section than the German, but few could maintain that speed all the way to the finish.
Lindsey Vonn, starting in bib 8, looked poised to take over the lead. She was fast through multiple splits but could not carry the momentum into the finish and crossed the line 0.09 seconds behind Weidle-Winkelmann after a line error in the lower mid-section. “I didn’t quite see the terrain, and I lost my balance,” Vonn said in a post-race interview with FIS. “It cost me probably half a second or more… but I’m just happy that I hung on to the podium and the red bib.”
Lindsey Vonn shared the podium with kids from the local ski club. | Image: FIS Alpine IG
Then came Conny Hütter in bib 9. The 2023–24 season Downhill Crystal Globe winner delivered a smooth, controlled, and deceptively fast run, taking control in the mid-section and skiing the cleanest line of the day. She snuck into the lead by 0.26 seconds, stopping the clock at 1:41.54. “I nailed the line perfectly during the race,” Hütter said afterward to FIS. “I fought all the way down to hold my line.”
Conny Hütter with her prizes: a calf and a wheel of cheese. | Image: FIS Alpine IG
Sofia Goggia, starting in bib 14, looked untouchable early, building nearly a half-second advantage before a mistake in the mid-section forced a spectacular recovery. She ultimately finished eighth. Breezy Johnson, wearing bib 15, was another skier who struggled to stay on the ideal racing line in the tricky light, finishing seventh—still a solid result, but not quite the run she was hoping for.
With the top 15 skiers through, it became clear the podium was set. Hütter successfully defended her lead against the sport’s biggest names, while Weidle-Winkelmann held on for her first podium in three seasons and seventh of her career, all in Downhill. “I didn’t expect a podium with that run,” she admitted after the race. “This means a lot—a lot, a lot. It’s been a [podium] drought for two years and no matter what I tried, nothing worked. After last season, I was fed up and decided I needed to change something. Now I have found a different approach: I decided to be more relaxed and bring back the fun in the sport and it’s paying off.”
For Team USA, the depth was just as encouraging as Vonn’s podium. Behind Johnson’s seventh place, Jacqui Wiles finished in 15th, while Allison Mollin continued her breakout season, skiing from bib 41 into 22nd place to earn valuable World Cup FIS points—her second 22nd-place finish in as many weeks. Haley Cutler and Keely Cashman also scored points in 27th and 28th, respectively, while Bella Wright and Tricia Mangan finished just outside the top 30.
Hütter’s victory marked her 10th career World Cup win, while Vonn left Val d’Isère with momentum—and the Downhill red bib—after a venue where she has now stood on the podium yet again. The women return to the O.K. course on Sunday for the Super-G, with Vonn set to make one final run down one of her most successful tracks: she has claimed a total of seven victories in Val d’Isère.
Vonn in Val d’Isere, France. | Image: Lindsey Vonn IG