Where do North American men rank after Bormio?

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Photo: GEPA

Of the 129 men who have scored World Cup points this season, 18 are North Americans. Identical to North American women, North American men represent nearly 14% of the athletes with points. Ten USA and eight Canadian male ski racers have finished a race among the top 30.

Identical to the women’s World Cup, eighteen nations have male skiers who have achieved a top 30 World Cup outcome. Notably, Chile is among those nations for the first time. Switzerland has 20 men who have succeeded, Austria has one less at 19, and Italy has the third most with 17 men who have finished 30th or better. It is fun to note that if Odermatt was a nation he would be sitting in fifth place in the Nations Cup Standings. Of course, a similar analysis could be done on the women’s side concerning Mikaela Shiffrin.

Notably, Switzerland leads Austria in the men’s Nations Cup by 362 points and Norway is third, 446 points behind the leading Swiss team.

James Crawford and Ryan Cochran-Siegle lead the North American men

At this point of the season, the highest-scoring North American is Canadian James Crawford, sitting 6th overall and 48 points behind Norway’s 5th place Lucas Braathen. So far, Crawford is the only North American male to stand on a 2022-23 podium; he has done it three times, all downhill.

The best-ranked USA athlete is Olympic super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle. He is currently ranked 16th overall and has three top-10 results; his best results are two 5th-place finishes.

The North American athlete list of first-time point scorers will likely increase as the talented young North American tech skiers find their confidence in the January World Cups. So far this season, the only North American male to score their first career World Cup points is USA’s Kyle Negomir. The 24-year-old from Colorado finished 23rd in the Lake Louise super-G and 24th in Bormio in the same discipline.

So far this season, Crawford is the only North American male to score in three disciplines. Five other Canadians have achieved points in two disciplines: Erik Read, Brodie Seger, Jeffery Read, Trevor Philp, and Broderick Thompson. The four US athletes with scores in two disciplines include Cochran-Siegle, River Radamus, Jared Goldberg, and Erik Arvidson.

Eight other North Americans, five from the US and three from Canada, have achieved points in a single discipline.

Stifel US Alpine Team provides opportunities

It is great to see the Stifel US Alpine Team give opportunities to deserving athletes that are not named members of the national team. Notably, independent USST invitee Sam Morse who is servicing his own skis, scored two in downhills on consecutive days in Val Gardena-Gröden, including a 1oth place. Additionally, Brian McLaughlin, an Independent member of Global Racing, finished 19th in the Val d’lsere GS. 

While at this point in the season, Crawford is the only one who has stood on a 2022-23 podium, six USA athletes join him with top-ten results. Cochran-Siegle, Travis Ganong, Radamus, Tommy Ford, Morse, and Jared Goldberg all have achieved this elite accomplishment during the 2022-23 season.

Unfortunately, after the first two World Cup men’s slaloms, Canadian Erik Read is the only North American to score points in the discipline. He is ranked 19th for the season. However, there are plenty of good North American slalom skiers capable of scoring who are likely to show their speed soon. With seven regular season slaloms, the World Championships, and the finals remaining, expect better results to come. It is, however, concerning that men’s slalom is the only discipline that the Stifel US Alpine Team has no athletes who have achieved World Cup points. All three athletes racing are undoubtedly capable.

Plenty of podium potential

There is considerable ability among North American men. It will not be a surprise when more find their way to the podium steps and qualify for the World Cup finals in Andora.

Again we suggest you look at the data and come to your conclusions. Remember, It is only a fantastic sport that entertains us, but certainly, the staff and athletes of both North American teams are doing everything they know to do to be as good as possible.

Considering both genders, even with Russia banned from participating, there are 22 nations whose athletes have achieved World Cup points. Undoubtedly, finishing in the top 30 in this sport requires an elite performance.

North American men who have scored World Cup points as of Bormio in the 2022-23 season

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North American men who have scored World Cup downhill points in the 2022-23 season

North American men who have scored World Cup slalom points in the 2022-23 season

The North American men who have scored World Cup slalom points in the 2022-23 season

North American men who have scored World Cup super-G points in the 2022-23 season

Men’s Nations Cup standing after Bormio