Marco Odermatt locks up overall and discipline title in penultimate downhill of World Cup season

COURCHEVEL, France (AP) — Marco Odermatt has locked up his first two titles of the World Cup season. And it's only a matter of days before he will likely add two more globes.

The Swiss star secured the overall and downhill title Friday after finishing third behind Austrian winner Vincent Kriechmayr in the penultimate downhill of the season.

It’s the fifth straight overall title for Odermatt, which puts him level with Marc Girardelli in second place on the all-time winners list, behind Marcel Hirscher with eight titles.

Clinching the big crystal globe was a formality for Odermatt, since the only racer who could mathematically overtake him, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, doesn’t compete in downhills. The six remaining races this season are not enough for Pinheiro Braathen to close his deficit of 632 points in the overall standings.

“Winning those globes once again early means you are far ahead and that makes it even more special,” said Odermatt, who won four World Cup downhills this season, but finished fourth in the Olympic race last month.

Odermatt won the downhill globe for the third straight season, marking his 10th career discipline title. He’s expected to add the super-G globe this weekend and is in a strong position to win the giant slalom title at the World Cup Finals in Norway next week.

He also won those four globes in each of the past two seasons.

“It’s very nice. For me, the downhill globe became probably the most important thing in my career now," Odermatt said. "To win this the third time in a row, and also with a big gap, makes it even more special to be so consistent in every race.”

Odermatt knew before his run Friday that the downhill globe was secured, since his only remaining challenger, teammate and Olympic champion Franjo von Allmen, started earlier but skied out.

Von Allmen needed to finish first or second to keep any hopes alive. Racing in warm and sunny conditions, he came off the race line in a right turn and wasn’t able to adjust when he skied through soft snow outside of the course.

Odermatt then clocked the third time, 0.31 seconds behind Kriechmayr, with Giovanni Franzoni of Italy trailing by 0.09 in second. The result marked the first World Cup downhill win for the Austrian men’s team in three years.

“It was very difficult, very tough race. I think I never been that much tired in the finish like today, it’s been a long season and tough conditions,” said Odermatt, referring to the mild temperatures and soft snow.

“I am very happy with my race, another consistent race, for the globe as well, a perfect day."

Olympic super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle was the best U.S. skier in 12th place, while his teammate Jared Goldberg stopped his run after narrowly avoiding a full-speed crash with a course worker who was still moving on the race line when the American approached.

Odermatt's teammate Niels Hintermann, who was 20th on the start list, didn't race and said he had decided to end his career.

“My body and my mind didn't want to race today. I am not willing anymore to take the necessary risks,” said Hintermann, who returned to the circuit in December at age 30 after being declared cancer-free following treatment for node cancer.

“I've got a second life after my illness, I am not going to put that at risk,” added Hintermann, who got the last of his three career World Cup wins two years ago.

The race also marked the last downhill for 41-year-old Adrien Théaux, who this week announced his retirement after 22 years on the World Cup.

A three-time Olympian who took super-G bronze at the 2015 world championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado, the French veteran won three World Cup races, most recently in December 2015.

The race weekend in the resort that hosted the 2023 world championships continues with two super-Gs.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

France's Adrien Theaux kisses his partner Bérangère at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, after competing in his last race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

France's Adrien Theaux kisses his partner at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, after competing in his last race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, right, celebrates with the team after taking third place in an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, as Switzerland's Niels Hintermann celebrates after announcing his retirement, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, left, and third-placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen arrives at the finish area after failing to complete an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Courchevel, France, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan’s military Friday of targeting homes in overnight airstrikes in Kabul and other areas of the country, saying at least six civilians were killed and more than a dozen injured, as fighting between the neighbors entered its third week.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near the airport in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. “This company supplies fuel to civilian airlines as well as to United Nations aircraft,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s state-run television reported that the country’s armed forces carried out “successful airstrikes inside Afghanistan” as part of the ongoing operation, targeting what it said were four alleged militant hideouts and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan.

The developments come amid a dramatic increase in tensions between the two countries which Pakistan has referred to as “open war. ” They are adding to concerns about the stability in the region as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continues with no end in sight, generating great uncertainty.

The dispute is rooted in Pakistan's belief that Afghanistan’s Taliban government is harboring militant groups that stage attacks against it and also of allying with its archrival India. The Taliban deny harboring the militant groups.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been targeting each other’s military installations since late February, when Kabul said it struck Pakistani posts in response to Pakistani attacks along the border. Pakistan’s military has said its operations targeted the Pakistani Taliban and their support networks along the border.

Both sides have claimed to inflict heavy losses in what has become their deadliest fighting in years.

In Kabul, the Defense Ministry said Afghanistan’s air force responded to Pakistan's attacks by targeting Pakistani military installations in the Kohat district, causing heavy losses.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information rejected the Afghan Defense Ministry’s claims as baseless. In a statement, it said the Pakistani Taliban attempted to deploy three rudimentary drones in Kohat, but Pakistani forces shot them down. Two civilians were injured by falling debris, it said.

In his posts on X, The Afghan government spokesman, Mujahid, alleged that Pakistani strikes hit multiple civilian sites and uninhabited locations in Afghanistan’s Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas. He said the attacks “will not go unanswered.”

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said at least four civilians, including children, were killed in the city and 15 others were injured.

Additionally, Afghanistan’s Department of Information and Culture in Nangarhar province said a Pakistani mortar shell killed a woman and a child there.

The total number of casualties around Afghanistan was unclear.

The latest Pakistani strikes came a day after China’s special envoy, Yue Xiaoyong, arrived in Islamabad and met with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Sadiq, following a visit to Kabul.

Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, said he and Yue “discussed threats posed by terrorist groups" and agreed on the need for collective efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability.

Repeated calls from the international community for restraint have had little effect. Pakistan has previously said its strikes along the border and inside Afghanistan are aimed solely at Khawarij, a phrase Islamabad uses for the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed six officers in Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, police official Sajjad Khan said. No one claimed responsibility but suspicion is likely to fall on TTP which often claim such attacks.

Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, the TTP has intensified attacks inside Pakistan and along the border. Islamabad says its military operations will continue until Kabul takes verifiable steps to curb the TTP and other militants operating from its territory.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the intense fighting in October, but several rounds of peace talks in Turkey in November failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

Taliban police guard the area where a strike hit a house in the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)

The body of a person killed in a strike that hit a house is carried on a bed frame in the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)

A man mourns next to the body of a child killed in a strike that hit a house in the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)