Val Gardena, Italy – Steady snowfall hampered vision Friday in Val Gardena as Austrian veteran ski racer Michael Walchhofer returned to the famed Saslong podium for a fourth time with the win in an Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super G, his career third in the discipline. Canada’s reigning super G Crystal Globe champion, Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, earned the 14th World Cup podium of his career by finishing third.n“It was a pretty good run today. I was feeling it in the start,” said Guay, who found the podium in Val Gardena for the third time in his career. “I charged hard out of the start gate. I made a small mistake on the top section when I went for the outside gate and that probably cost me four or five tenths, but besides that I was able to ski very well on the bottom. I was good over the rolls, feeling supple, feeling loose, so we’ll see how that plays out for tomorrow’s race.”
The result ties Guay with Canadian ski racing legend Ken Read at 14 career World Cup podiums, good enough for second of all time among Canadian men. Read’s results came primarily in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, prior to the super G discipline being incorporated into the World Cup.
Walchhofer’s time of 1:34.35 propelled him to the top of both the World Cup overall and SG standings. As a team Austria surged, placing five racers in the top 10. The surprise of the day had to be Germany’s Stephan Keppler, who finished in second place for his best career result and his first time on the podium at a World Cup ski race.
Olympic champion Bode Miller, of Franconia, N.H., led Americans with 16th. Miller powered out of the start with five strong pushes before grabbing his tuck and immediately looking for speed. The run was solid until his aggressive line bounced him wide after a delay gate a quarter of the way into the run.
“Bode was putting the hammer down today really hard,” said U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Sasha Rearick. “He went tight tight on that one delay over the Mauer and that was a little too aggressive for that situation. He just couldn’t bring back as much shape as he thought he could, but once he got back up to speed through the bottom, he skied really well.”
For California’s Marco Sullivan, his 30th place earned Friday, just inside the World Cup points, is not where he’s used to being in the finish, but Rearick says he’s making the right strides to return to the podium.
“This hill is really fast. It skis harder than it looks,” Sullivan told reporters in the finish. “A lot of the jumps that we didn’t expect to get off the ground on, we’re catching air. But the snow is really good and you have to be aggressive. I had a little mistake at the top. I skied pretty aggressively and my equipment is starting to feel a lot better. I’m inching my way up the ranks and I’m actually pleased with today.”
“From where Marco started the season to now is a positive step in the right direction,” added Rearick. “He’s committing down the fall line and looking for speed, which is good to see. Still he’s not skiing as fast as we know he can and will.”
Rearick also noted strong skiing from Middleton, Idaho’s Erik Fisher, who started today despite receiving dental surgery on Thursday following a downhill training crash that cracked three of his teeth. Fisher finished tied for 44th with reigning NorAm SG champion Chis Frank of Windham, N.Y.
“I’m really proud of Fish today,” he said. “He had a tough crash yesterday and picked up a few new Italian teeth, then came out this morning and charged through some incredibly snowy conditions like nothing happened.”
In addition to Guay, two other Canadians finished in the top 20 today with Manuel Osborne-Paradis, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, placing 15th and L’Ange-Gardien, Quebec’s François Bourque finishing 19th. Friday’s race marked Bourque’s first top 20 finish since 2009.
The snowfall across Europe wreaked havoc on Friday, grounding nearly 450 flights in Germany and canceling the women’s World Cup SG in Val d’Isere, France as three feet fell prior to race time. World Cup ski racing continues in the Southern Tyrol region Saturday with the famed Saslong classic downhill slated to start at 6:15 a.m. ET.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Val Gardena, Italy – Dec. 17, 2010
Super G
1. Michael Walchhofer, Austria, 1:34.35
2. Stephan Keppler, Germany, 1:35.02
3. Erik Guay, Canada, 1:35.16
4. Benjamin Raich, Austria, 1:35.32
5. Romed Baumann, Austria, 1:35.58