American Downhillers Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg and Ryan Cochran-Siegle 'Super Pumped' for Grueling Lauberhorn Downhill

In the shadow of the iconic Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks lies the venerable Lauberhorn Downhill course, a lactic-acid inducing 2.78-mile test of endurance, precision and tactics, with ski racers reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. 

Its fabled history is synonymous with not only the legendary champions who have shined on the prestigious Swiss course, but also its revered course sections – the signature Hundschopf Jump which launches racers into flight though a narrow opening between rocks, the tricky Kernen-S right-left turn combination and the Wasserstation, in which skiers dart under a bridge as cog railway trains pass above.

The mystical alpine village of Wengen in the Swiss Bernese Oberland – which is devoid of automobiles and only accessible via the Wengernalp Railway – is home to the 94th edition International Lauberhorn Races, Jan. 11-14.

Veteran Stifel U.S. Ski Team racers Bryce Bennett and Jared Goldberg are fired up for the historic race, as well as the unrivaled experience that the classic Swiss race venue and sublime setting presents.

“You can’t build a downhill like this anymore – Wengen has pretty much everything: incredibly difficult turns, gliding, you’re going under a tunnel and almost at 100 miles per hour, it’s crazy” Bennett tells Team USA.

“I really love Wengen for all those aspects. It’s the essence of what I think downhill is.”

Goldberg – who will battle the Lauberhorn downhill course for a tenth time – expresses a similar fascination.

“Ever since the first time I’ve came here, I’ve just loved it – it’s so beautiful, the hill is so long and funky, and it’s like free skiing,” Goldberg said, after his opening training run of 2:30.91.

“It’s got a bunch of different speeds – you’re going fast, then slowing down and there’s a lot of step and technical turns.

“It takes a lot of thinking and it’s the coolest puzzle of a ski race in the world.”

Bennett is striving to ride the momentum from a December downhill victory in Val Gardena, Italy, while Goldberg clocked the second fastest time in Tuesday’s first training run, just .05 seconds behind Swiss star Marco Odermatt. Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle provides Team USA with a triple threat, as he posted fifth in Wednesday’s second training.

The American downhillers are invigorated and appear confident to send it at Thursday’s first of double downhills (the first being a replacement of a cancellation in Beaver Creek, Colo.) and in Saturday’s marquee Lauberhorn Downhill. A super-G is scheduled for Friday.

“I’m super pumped for Wengen – I have the best feeling on my skis in a long time, so it’s putting the pieces together here and I think I can be super competitive,” Bennett says. 

“There are certain sections that I’ve consistently done really well, but there’s also the Carousel Turn through the Hundschopf Jump and into Canadian Corner which has eaten me up in previous years,” said the tall California ski racer. “I’m approaching them with maximum focus.”

Goldberg is equally optimistic about how the course is setting up to his liking.

“Everything was great through the Hundschopf Jump and the speed was really high,” Goldberg said. “I had a really good feeling for the snow – this is one of my favorite tracks and I’m just having fun here.”

In training, Goldberg clocked the quickest fourth and fifth sectors on the Lauberhorn track – which boasts 3,372 feet of vertical drop – demonstrating that his stamina and endurance are where they need to be for the rigorous, nearly three-mile mental and physical test.

“I’ve been feeling strong this year, probably the strongest I’ve ever felt,” said the Utah ski racer and two-time Olympian. “I was very fast on the bottom and that gives me some confidence.”

Bennett, 31, maximizing speed on Wengen Lauberhorn’s long gliding sections has finished among the top ten three times, including a personal best fifth in 2019. Cochran-Siegle, 31, attained his best result of eighth in 2022. Goldberg, 32, had his top finish of 12th in 2014.

The vaunted Lauberhorn track has proved inviting to U.S. ski racers of past eras. 

Bode Miller’s tactics and fearless approach resulted in consecutive victories in 2007 and 2008, Daron Rahlves won in 2006, “Cowboy” Kyle Rasmussen pulled off an unexpected triumph in 1995, and Bill Johnson made a miraculous recovery to take top honors in 1984, just weeks before becoming the first American to win Olympic downhill gold at the Olympic Winter Games Sarajevo 1984.

“It’s extra cool that those guys have all done it here and taken victory away from the Europeans,” Goldberg said.

The Robert Redford 1969 classic film ‘Downhill Racer’ showcased the snowy pistes and stunning scenery of Wengen, while portraying how tough it was for an American ski racer to compete against the Europeans at that time, far from home and on foreign terrain.

“That movie is so cool - every time I watch It, I think I just missed my era,” Bennett jokes. “It would have been cool to have been a rock star back then, looking at a map, traveling all over Europe, and racing some downhill here and there.”

Goldberg added: “We’ve gotten more comfortable coming here over the years and we can have a lot of success – I think that movie hit the nail on the head about our lives.”