Asa Vermette could end American World Cup downhill drought at Lake Placid

The last time an American took the overall Downhill World Cup title was in 2017. Aaron Gwin won the overall title that year, something he’d done the year before. And the year before that — actually, in 2011 and 2012, as well. But 2017 would surely mark the end of American dominance of the sport, with Frenchman Amaury Pierron and Loic Bruni going on to dominate the decade.

Now another American, and Gwin’s Frameworks teammate, Asa Vermette, is in a position to bring the overall title back to the US. Vermette leads the standings heading into the final race of the season at Lake Placid, but familiar names like Pierron and another young racer, Britain’s Jordan Williams, aren’t far off.

Vermette’s solid showing in Whistler puts him in 1st overall: breaking down the numbers

Going into last weekend’s race at Whistler, Vermette comfortably sat in second place with 1,047 points in the overall standings. Specialized Gravity team racer Jordan Williams led with 1,188 points, with teammate Finn Iles sitting in third (985 points), and Pierron just behind with 968 points.

But a lot can change at a World Cup race. First, the heartache. Iles, who sat in third overall, failed to qualify, as did Jackson Goldstone, who was in fifth overall. This would bump both Canadian racers down in the overall standings, with Iles now sitting in fifth and, sadly, out of the overall race.

Williams, who led in points, didn’t have the race weekend he wanted. He grabbed 15 points for a 10th-place qualifying run, and 48 more points for crossing the line in 21st place — a total of 63 points on the weekend.

Vermette, on the other hand, literally couldn’t have done better. He crossed the line first in both qualifying and his race run, grabbing him 300 points and moving him into the top spot overall. Pierron also had a great weekend in Whistler, qualifying fourth (25 points) and finishing third (180 points). He now sits third in overall points.

Max Alran also had a huge points jump. He came into the Whistler weekend in eighth overall, but a second in both qualifying and finals grabbed him an additional 250 points. Sadly, while he now sits fourth overall, it won’t be enough for the Frenchman to grab the top spot in Lake Placid.

Even with a nearly 100-point lead, Vermette isn’t safe

With Whistler World Cup weekend over, the overall standings are as follows:

1. Asa Vermette (USA) 1,347
2. Jordan Williams (GBR) 1,251
3. Amaury Pierron (FRA) 1,173

This coming weekend, and the final stop of DH World Cup racing for the 2026 season, 300 points are on the line in Lake Placid. And looking at the points spread, Vermette doesn’t necessarily need to win at Lake Placid to secure the overall title. Instead, he needs a solid race weekend.

And so do the others. Surely, Williams will be fighting for the overall spot since the young racer is less than 100 points behind. And don’t count Pierron out either. With less than 200 points to bridge the gap, the veteran will surely be gunning for an overall title.

This would, of course, mean that Williams or Pierron (Pierron more so than Williams) would not only need to have a spectacular Lake Placid showing, but also need Vermette to do poorly or not qualify at all.

Now, that may seem unlikely, but remember that both Finn Iles and Jackson Goldstone — Canadian favorites in Whistler — crashed and didn’t qualify for the Whistler World Cup. And while both men are out of reach of the overall title, they will surely want redemption at the last race of the season, further mixing things up.

Vermette and the rest of the field are currently heading to Lake Placid, New York, for the final race — a fitting place to bring the overall title back to the US. Qualifying runs will be on Saturday, October 3rd, with the finals on Sunday, the 4th.

Let’s go, Asa!

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