Italian Skier Franzoni Wins First World Cup After Injury

Giovanni Franzoni stood at the top of Switzerland's Lauberhorn slope Friday, the same course where a brutal crash two years ago nearly ended his skiing career. This time, he made history.

The Italian skier clinched his first World Cup victory in Wengen on January 16, racing down the mountain in 1 minute and 45.19 seconds. Drawing the challenging first starting position, Franzoni blazed the trail for everyone who followed.

"I crashed two years ago here and I had an injury on my hamstring. I struggled a lot to recover during the next year," Franzoni told Eurosport after his win. But the Lauberhorn held special meaning beyond the pain—it was also where he scored his first World Cup points in super-G.

As Franzoni watched from the leader's chair, bright sunshine warmed the snow and made conditions increasingly difficult for later racers. Even Marco Odermatt, the current World Cup overall leader, couldn't match his time.

Austria's Stefan Babinsky finished second, earning his first career podium in his 94th World Cup race since joining the circuit in 2019. Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen rounded out the top three, giving the home crowd something to celebrate.

Before Friday's breakthrough, Franzoni had reached the podium only once—a third-place finish in Italy last month. Now he's a World Cup winner on the very slope that once left him broken.

Why This Inspires

Franzoni's victory shows how setbacks can become setups for comebacks. He returned to the mountain that injured him, faced the pressure of starting first, and turned his painful memory into his greatest achievement. His journey from struggling to recover to standing atop the podium proves that perseverance pays off, even when the odds seem impossible.

The World Cup continues this weekend in Wengen with downhill and slalom races before moving to Austria's legendary Hahnenkamm next week.