Dominik Paris / Bormio Olympics / GEPA pictures
Before returning to snow for his 18th World Cup season, the Italian downhill star performed two concerts near the homes of Swiss rivals Franjo von Allmen and Marco Odermatt.
Dominik Paris normally builds speed on the world’s most demanding downhill courses. Over the past few days, however, the 37-year-old Italian traded his skis for a microphone and stepped onstage as the frontman for heavy metal band Rise of Voltage.
Paris brings exceptional credentials to that second stage. The Italian has won 20 World Cup downhills and earned the Olympic downhill bronze medal on home snow in Bormio earlier this year.
The brief Swiss tour placed Paris surprisingly close to two of the sport’s defining male stars. On Aug. 14, the band played the Mannried Openair in Zweisimmen, the hometown of Franjo von Allmen. One day later, Paris performed at the Teffly Rally in Ennetmoos, Nidwalden, near Marco Odermatt’s home.
Odermatt remains the world’s leading male Alpine skier. Meanwhile, von Allmen won three gold medals in Bormio during his Olympic debut. That performance tied the record for the most Alpine skiing gold medals at a single Winter Olympics.
Bluewin’s Sandro Zappella reported the unusual preseason stops as many of the sport’s top athletes returned to glacier training ahead of the 2026-27 World Cup campaign.
Why do concerts make Paris more nervous than downhill?
Paris has spent years attacking courses such as the Lauberhorn in Wengen and the Streif in Kitzbühel. Still, performing for a live audience takes him farther outside his comfort zone than racing downhill.
According to Bluewin, Paris told Blick that a concert produces a different kind of pressure. From the stage, he immediately senses the crowd’s response and has nowhere to retreat. Ski racing feels more familiar because he knows the routine and can direct his attention toward executing his run.
That contrast makes a 90-minute concert an imposing challenge, even for an athlete accustomed to competing at the limit on the World Cup’s fastest courses.
Was Paris checking on Marco Odermatt?
The location invited an easy joke, but Paris dismissed any suggestion that he had traveled to Nidwalden to gather information about Odermatt. He explained that the booking had no connection to the Swiss star and that he had not initially realized Odermatt came from the area.
Rise of Voltage’s route to the Teffly Rally instead developed through an earlier appearance in Giswil, Obwalden.
Odermatt did not attend the Ennetmoos show because he was training on the glacier in Zermatt. His father, Walti Odermatt, represented the family in the audience.
When will Paris return to snow?
The Italian’s run as a summer frontman will be short. Paris plans to begin snow training within days as he prepares for his 18th World Cup season.
Soon, the microphone will give way to downhill skis. Yet his Swiss concerts offered a memorable reminder that even one of ski racing’s most accomplished speed athletes can still find a stage that makes him nervous.
Reporting source: Bluewin article by Sandro Zappella. Bluewin cited reporting and comments published by Blick.