LAKE LOUISE, Alberta, 1 December 2003 — World champion Michael Walchhofer of Austria registered his first career World Cup win on Saturday as he stormed to an emphatic victory in changing conditions in the season’s first downhill.
Over 30 centimeters of fresh snow on the men’s Olympic course had combined with swirling, gusting winds to produce unpredictable conditions but Walchhofer took advantage of a favorable break in the weather. He charged down the 3,136 meters layout in one minute 51.16 seconds, nearly a full second clear of his nearest challenger.
Canadian supporters, who have had little to cheer in recent years, finally had reason to celebrate as 22-year-old Erik Guay came home second in 1:51.85 followed by Frenchman Antoine Deneriaz in 1:51.90.
The shock downhill champion at last season’s world championships in St. Moritz, Walchhofer has appeared poised for World Cup success for some time having recorded four second-place finishes last season.
But until Saturday the 28-year-old Austrian’s only World Cup success had been a first in a combined event, a paper victory that adds together the results of a downhill and slalom.
Guay’s result was the best by a Canadian on home snow since Rob Boyd roared to victory in 1989 at Whistler and marked the first time a Canadian had set foot on World Cup podium since Edi Podivinsky’s third-place finish three years ago at Wengen.
The podium finish marks the continuing renaissance of a decimated Canadian alpine program that is beginning to re-emerge as a World Cup force under the guidance of former Crazy Canuck Ken Read, who took over as president of Alpine Canada last year.
With Vancouver-Whistler set to host the 2010 Winter Games, Alpine Canada turned to Read to rebuild a program that could not even field a team for all men’s World Cup races last season. It was a difficult day for the skiers expected to battle for the World Cup overall and downhill titles this season.
Defending overall World Cup and downhill champion Stephan Eberharter of Austria and current World Cup leader Bode Miller of the United States both struggled with the unpredictable conditions finishing outside the top 20.
Miller finishing a disappointing 30th after crashing out of last week’s slalom in Park City. With only 32 points from the opening three events, Eberharter managed to make up some ground on his American rival with a 22nd place finish but had hoped for better.
Paerson Completes Park City Double
In Park City, Utah, Sweden’s Anja Paerson claimed an emphatic victory in a World Cup slalom race on Saturday 24 hours after winning a giant slalom on the same hill.
The 22-year-old took a 0.86-second advantage into the second leg and increased that gap to more than a second to win in one minute 33.74.
It was a repeat of her performance in Maribor in January when she claimed a similar clean sweep — a feat she also managed in the Slovenian resort in 2002.
Experienced Swiss Sonja Nef was second with a time of 1:34.88, while world slalom silver medalist Marlies Schild made sure there was an Austrian on the podium.
Paerson’s victory was her ninth in World Cup slaloms and underlined her iron grip on the sport — in the three races this season she has not finished lower than second.
If anything the dynamic Swede was even more dominant on Saturday than she had been in winning Friday’s giant slalom.
Nobody could match her power and technical prowess down a tricky course, with her one big threat, Austrian 20-year-old Nicole Hosp, crashing in the opening run.
With overall World Cup and slalom world champion Janica Kostelic still sidelined by a thyroid condition, Paerson currently looks unstoppable in the technical disciplines and leads the overall standings with 280 points.
Nef, the 2001 world champion at giant slalom, believes she can be a force again after recovering from tearing knee ligaments in a training accident in March.
“Since coming back from my injury this is the best I’ve felt,” she said.
