Bryce Bennett Faces Race Day and Fatherhood in Sun Valley

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (AP) — American ski racer Bryce Bennett has dual priorities this weekend as he prepares for the World Cup downhill race on Friday, March 21, 2025, while also anticipating the arrival of his first child. With his wife due on race day, Bennett plans to complete the challenging course known as ‘Challenger’ and then rush back home to Truckee, California.

During Friday’s training session, Bennett mastered the course in 1 minute, 26.58 seconds, finishing 23rd, and trailing behind the top time set by Swiss racer Alexis Monney by 2.29 seconds. “It’s a cool downhill,” Bennett remarked. “It’s super fun.”

According to four-time overall World Cup champion Marco Odermatt, the steep sections of the Challenger course are reminiscent of the Birds of Prey run in Beaver Creek, Colorado. “But a downhill turning like this, I’ve never skied before,” Odermatt stated, currently holding an 83-point lead over teammate Franjo von Allmen in the downhill standings ahead of the final race.

The Challenger course boasts a length of approximately 2,459 meters (1.5 miles) and features various vertical sections cultivated to thrill but also to ensure racer safety, mixing in traverses to check speed over jumps. “There’s no sense risking injury,” said Tom Johnston, course technical adviser, as the ski community prepares for the upcoming 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Bennett expressed some internal conflict over his personal and professional goals during moments of downtime. “When you’re skiing and inspecting, it’s fine. You don’t think about it,” he shared. “When you go back to the hotel in the afternoon and you’re sitting around, it’s like, ‘What am I doing here?'”

Federica Brignone of Italy, leading the women’s downhill standings by a narrow margin, also prepared for the event, noting her mother, former ski racer Maria Rosa Quario, would be present to cheer her on. “The slope is amazing. The place is amazing and I’m having so much fun,” Brignone said, acknowledging the pressure of her tight lead over Austria’s Cornelia Huetter.

The last time the World Cup circuit came to Sun Valley was 1977, with Phil Mahre among the victors that week. Reflecting on that long-ago event, Mahre remarked, “It was a good day.”

Picabo Street, Idaho native and two-time Olympic champion, joined the festivities as a commentator for NBC Sports, expressing her excitement over returning to the venue that fostered her career. “This is so wild for me. It’s emotional,” she shared. Street, who will have a statue unveiled in her honor on Monday, recounted her youthful aspirations of witnessing ski racing in Sun Valley.

Riley Berman, the chief of course, noted the unique and ‘sprint-style, in-your-face’ design of the trail. “It’s going to be full throttle from the moment they leave the gate,” he explained, highlighting the work of Johnston in creating this exciting event.