Game on in Kitzbuehel, Svindal trains fastest

By Published On: January 23rd, 2013Comments Off on Game on in Kitzbuehel, Svindal trains fastest

Aksel Lund Svindal Tuesday (Jan 22) registered the fastest time down the Streif in the first training run for Saturday’s (Jan 26) Hahnenkamm Downhill at Kitzbehel, Austria. A super G is planned for Friday, the slalom and combined conclude Sunday.

In snowy conditions interspersed with a bit of fog, Svindal clocked in .25 of a second faster than runner-up Hannes Reichelt and his teammate Kjetil Jansrud posted the third fastest time .66 back. Swiss Marc Gisin roared out of the 40th start to place fourth knocking Canadian Erik Guay and American Travis Ganong back a space to fifth and sixth respectively.

Austria’s defending downhill champ, Klaus Kroell, skied off the course in intense fog. FIS director Guenther Hujara later issued an apology to Kroell, indicating he should have been waved off the course when the fog suddenly thickened.

Sporadic course conditions and a window of improved visibility made for some dramatic moves from the back of the pack. Like Gisin, Austrian Matthias Mayer and Italian Siegmar Klotz both made the top 10 from starts in the 40’s.

“The snow is inconsistent for now but in general smoother than it had been,” said US coach Sasha Rearick. “It will freeze up nice and firm and it will be a man’s race for sure.”

US racer Stven Nyman called the surface, “nasty bad,” and indicated it appeared the injection had not been given enough time to cure. Colder conditions in the forecast should help that issue.

Manny Osborne-Paradis started 44th and finished 18th to become the third fastest North American down the course. Benjamin Thomasen was 19th and Ted Ligety posted 23rd. Jan Hudec, Marco Sullivan and  Nyman all made the top 30. Andrew Weibrecht moved dramatically and had the lead high on the course, but finished 38th as the 55th of 59 starters.

Gepa photo

Kitzbuehel (AUT)
Training
Men’s Downhill
Jan. 22, 2013

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time FIS Points
 1  16  421328 SVINDAL Aksel Lund  1982  NOR   1:59.34  
 2  18  50742 REICHELT Hannes  1980  AUT   1:59.59  
 3  11  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil  1985  NOR   2:00.00  
 4  40  511529 GISIN Marc  1988  SUI   2:00.56  
 5  20  102263 GUAY Erik  1981  CAN   2:00.57  
 6  26  530874 GANONG Travis  1988  USA   2:00.64  
 7  10  192746 THEAUX Adrien  1984  FRA   2:00.65  
 8  41  53902 MAYER Matthias  1990  AUT   2:00.67  
 9  45  294277 KLOTZ Siegmar  1987  ITA   2:00.75  
 10  7  292455 FILL Peter  1982  ITA   2:00.86  
 11  17  291459 PARIS Dominik  1989  ITA   2:00.99  
 12  3  560447 SPORN Andrej  1981  SLO   2:01.15  
 13  2  50858 STREITBERGER Georg  1981  AUT   2:01.29  
 14  15  191740 CLAREY Johan  1981  FRA   2:01.34  
 15  27  191964 POISSON David  1982  FRA   2:01.35  
 16  9  510727 DEFAGO Didier  1977  SUI   2:01.43  
 17  5  51332 SCHEIBER Florian  1987  AUT   2:01.44  
 18  44  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel  1984  CAN   2:01.47  
 19  6  103271 THOMSEN Benjamin  1987  CAN   2:01.48  
 20  38  511142 LUEOEND Vitus  1984  SUI   2:01.55  
 21  12  293006 INNERHOFER Christof  1984  ITA   2:01.56  
 22  39  180570 ROMAR Andreas  1989  FIN   2:01.57  
 23  33  534562 LIGETY Ted  1984  USA   2:01.64  
 24  19  102271 HUDEC Jan  1981  CAN   2:01.78  
 25  8  51327 PUCHNER Joachim  1987  AUT   2:01.80  
 26  29  533131 SULLIVAN Marco  1980  USA   2:01.82  
 27  28  192932 FAYED Guillermo  1985  FRA   2:01.87  
 28  50  192504 MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas  1984  FRA   2:01.99  
 29  21  533866 NYMAN Steven  1982  USA   2:02.13  
 29  4  511139 KUENG Patrick  1984  SUI   2:02.13  
 31  13  51215 BAUMANN Romed  1986  AUT   2:02.19  
 32  46  293550 MARSAGLIA Matteo  1985  ITA   2:02.21  
 32  23  292514 HEEL Werner  1982  ITA   2:02.21  
 34  49  400281 VAN HEEK Marvin  1991  NED   2:02.31  
 35  43  200379 SANDER Andreas  1989  GER   2:02.37  
 36  42  201606 KEPPLER Stephan  1983  GER   2:02.49  
 37  24  53817 FRANZ Max  1989  AUT   2:02.70  
 38  55  530939 WEIBRECHT Andrew  1986  USA   2:02.84  
 39  25  510890 ZURBRIGGEN Silvan  1981  SUI   2:02.94  
 40  48  193034 BOUILLOT Alexandre  1985  FRA   2:02.97  
 41  52  510747 GRUENENFELDER Tobias  1977  SUI   2:03.08  
 42  30  191591 BERTRAND Yannick  1980  FRA   2:03.12  
 43  34  194364 PINTURAULT Alexis  1991  FRA   2:03.67  
 44  22  511313 JANKA Carlo  1986  SUI   2:04.52  
 45  51  561216 KLINE Bostjan  1991  SLO   2:05.06  
 46  58  660021 DANILOCHKIN Yuri  1991  BLR   2:05.36  
 47  54  511352 VILETTA Sandro  1986  SUI   2:05.93  
 48  53  561217 KOSI Klemen  1991  SLO   2:06.34  
 49  59  430429 BYDLINSKI Maciej  1988  POL   2:07.20  
 50  57  510997 BERTHOD Marc  1983  SUI   2:07.70  
 51  1  561067 PERKO Rok  1985  SLO   2:08.55  
 52  37  194190 ROGER Brice  1990  FRA   7:16.26  
Did not start 1st run
   56  191746 DE TESSIERES Gauthier  1981  FRA     
   47  531452 BIESEMEYER Thomas  1989  USA     
   35  201811 STECHERT Tobias  1985  GER     
   32  380260 KOSTELIC Ivica  1979  CRO     
   31  50625 RAICH Benjamin  1978  AUT     
Did not finish 1st run
   36  560332 JERMAN Andrej  1978  SLO     
   14  50753 KROELL Klaus  1980  AUT   

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About the Author: Hank McKee

In memoriam: The veteran of the staff, McKee started with Ski Racing in 1980. Over the seasons, he covered virtually every aspect of the sport, from the pro tours to junior racing, freestyle and World Cup alpine competition. He wrote the first national stories for many U.S. team stars, and was still around to report on their retirements. “Longevity has its rewards,” he said, “but it’s a slow process.”