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Canadians Excel at Chamonix Alpine Skiing World Cup

Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:43:45 +0000

With temperatures dropping to minus 15 degrees during the Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup held at Chamonix this past weekend, the three Canadian skiers who started the race all finished in the top five. Jan Hudec of Calgary overcame injury obstacles that have plagued him recently to claim the gold medal, being his first since his downhill victory at Lake Louise in November 2007. Eric Guay of Mont-Tremblant took the bronze with Ben Thomsen of Invermere completing the event in fifth place. In a post-race interview, the team’s head coach Paul Kristofics noted that having all three competitors finish in the top five was amazing.

While the accomplishments of all the team members were noteworthy, for Jan Hudec it was a particularly meaningful victory in light of his six knee surgeries and continuing back problems. Delighted with the results of the race Hudec said that he had started the day free from pain for the first time in a long time and knew this was his opportunity to put his career back on track. With the icy slopes particularly suited to Hudec’s gliding skills, the skier completed the race in 2 minutes 3.25 seconds. Reigning world downhill champion, Guay came in 0.63 seconds behind the winner. Austria‘s Romed Baumann took silver with a time of 2 minutes, 3.78 seconds.

Commenting on the team’s performance, Hudec said “I think we blew everybody out of the water.” He also pointed out that while the results were against the odds, he thought the team members had done everything in their power to put themselves in the position to win. Referring to his injuries, Hudec said that although it would have been nice to make it to this point in his career without so many injuries, he felt that these obstacles have made his victory “that much sweeter.”

Teammate Guay was reported as saying that recent injuries in the team had resulted in a loss of momentum, but he noted that Jan Hudec’s return has been a motivating force for himself personally, and for the team. Certainly, Hudec’s will to overcome seemingly insurmountable health problems can serve as an inspiration to many.

Hirscher on World Cup Winning Streak

Editor — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:10:42 +0000

Overcoming limited visibility in foggy conditions, Marcel Hirscher of Austria maintained his winning streak as he claimed his third victory in succession in the slalom at Adelboden, Switzerland, on 8 January 2012, bringing his total wins for the season to five. With a combined time of one minute 58.66 seconds, Hirscher made history as the first skier to win both classic World Cup races in a weekend at the Adelboden Resort. The 22-year old skier beat defending champion Ivica Kostelic by a mere 0.27 seconds, with Stefano Gross of Italy taking third place on the podium.

In a post-race interview, Hirscher expressed his surprise at his success, noting that the weather conditions made the race like a rodeo and had him rocking all over the place. Having recovered from an injury suffered at the end of last season, Hirscher had not been expecting the success he has achieved in the current season. He was reported as saying that he has achieved the goals he set for himself this season, and was having fun with each race, enjoying his winning streak for as long as it lasts. He also noted, however, that he is glad for the break before the slalom set to take place in Wengen on January 15.

Kostelic conceded that he had been more cautious than usual in the manner in which he tackled the race, explaining that he has a history with the last ten gates on the Adelboden Chuenisbargli course where he has made mistakes in the past. Hirscher did not let anything hold him back as he took the victory. Both skiers agreed that weather conditions had been extremely difficult to deal with.

Although Ivica Kostelic of Croatia is 230 points behind Marcel Hirscher in the men’s World Cup championship, he has made it known that he is up for the challenge. He noted that what he likes about alpine skiing is that each race has skiers starting from scratch and he anticipated that Wengen will provide plenty of excitement, and Hirscher will have to show what he’s worth in speed events. Marcel Hirscher plans to skip the Super-Combined race scheduled for Friday and concentrate his efforts on Sunday’s Slalom.