American Chris Beckmann wins downhill at Junior World Championships

American Chris Beckmann wins downhill at Junior World ChampionshipsLE MASSIF, Quebec U.S. Ski Team member Christopher Beckmann cemented his status as one of the top young speed talents in the world with a victory March 2 in the 2006 Junior World Championships downhill.

Second in the downhill at world juniors a year ago, and second in the NorAm downhill standings this year, Beckmann entered the race in Quebec as one of the favorites, and lived up to the billing. Shrugging off a late start due to a light snow and fog, the NYSEF product ran 10th and found an extra gear on course, coming through the finish in 1:27.26. Austrian Romed Baumann had to settle for second, .29 behind Beckmann, and Canadian Stefan Guay completed the podium in third.

“Downhill is my best discipline and I had good sensations on this hill all week,” said Beckmann, who was granted a spot to compete in the World Cup Finals held in Sweden in the middle of the month. “I woke up this morning an hour before my alarm went off, and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I really wanted this win. I wanted gold.”

Third and fifth in training runs, Beckmann said he pushed the envelope on race day. “I was looking for the bullet where I could get it,” he said. “I was grabbing it every chance. And I was trying to get through that wind; up top it was a pretty good headwind, so I held my tuck longer than I had in the training runs, taking it out as far as I could.’

Beckmann had already claimed a World Cup spot for the 2006-07 season with his season NorAm ranking in downhill. “In NorAm races, I’ve been skiing very fast and I was building on strong performances,” said Beckmann. “But when I was on the Europa Cup, I had to make some adjustments because the guys are very strong. I had to turn it on in order to make it to the summit.”

It was the first U.S. downhill victory at Junior World Championships since Feb. 27, 2002 when Adam Cole and Julia Mancuso each won the downhill at World Juniors in Tarvisio, Italy.

Baumann, a member of the Austrian B team and the 2004 Junior World Championship downhill champ, was satisfied to find the podium, despite falling short of another victory. ‘I was confident this morning,” said Baumann. “It was much colder today but the delay didn’t help me to offer my best performance. I’ve had good performances at the world juniors in the speed disciplines in the past and I hope to repeat this in super G.”

Guay is participating in his third and final Junior World Championships and said he was happy with a podium in downhill since he hasn’t trained much in the event this year. But he has higher hopes for the rest of the series.

“In super G, I want to win. Otherwise I’ll be disappointed,” said Guay, whose brother Erik has made quite an impression on the World Cup this year. “In GS as well, I hope to be at the top. At this point, pressure is coming from me and the fact that my mom and friends are coming to cheer me on doesn’t increase my nervousness.”

Guay was joined in the top 10 by fellow Canadians Jonathan Robert and Louis-Pierre Hélie who came in seventh and ninth, respectavely.

U.S. development team skier Todd Thibodeau was the next-best American in 11th. U.S. C teamer Andrew Weibrecht was 16th, and Greg Bartels finished tied for 19th. Will Brandenburg was 29th, and Tim Kelley was 35th.

The women’s downhill race is scheduled for March 3.

Men’s downhill
Junior World Championships
Le Massif, Quebec
March 2, 2006

1. BECKMANN Christopher [USA]1:27.26
2. BAUMANN Romed [AUT] 1:27.55
3. GUAY Stefan [CAN} 1:27.59
4. FEUZ Beat [SUI] 1:27.81
5. ZRNCIC-DIM Natko [CRO]1:28.10
6. CAVIEZEL Mauro [SUI 1:28.17
7. ROBERT Jonathan [CAN]1:28.27
8. MARKIC Gasper [SLO] 1:28.31
9. SCHEIBER Florian [AUT]1:28.37
10. HELIE Louis-Pierre [CAN] 1:28.48

For a link to complete results, click here

For more information on the Alpine Junior World Championships Centrum
Performance Québec 2006 presented by TELUS, visit www.mjaq2006.ca.

EVENTS TO COME
March 3 Downhill women (Le Massif) 9:30
March 4 Super G men (Le Massif) & Slalom women (Mont-Ste-Anne) 10:00
March 5 Super G women (Le Massif) & Slalom men (Mont-Ste-Anne) 10:00
March 6 Giant slalom – men (Mont-Ste-Anne) 10:00
March 7 Giant slalom women (Mont-Ste-Anne) 10:00
March 8 Nations Cup (Le Relais) 12:00

USSA and Alpine Canada Alpin contributed to this report.