Garmisch: Jerman gives Slovenia first WC DH win
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Andrej Jerman gave Slovenia its first World Cup downhill win Friday, mastering a difficult course in tough conditions.
Jerman covered the 3,455-meter long Kandahar course in 1 minute, 56.82 seconds to beat Hans Grugger of Austria by 0.22 of a second. Erik Guay of Canada was third in 1:57.26.
Steven Nyman led U.S. finishers in 12th place while Scott Macartney finished 13th. Bode Miller struggled to a 28th-place result. Michael Walchhofer of Austria crashed heavily in a curve at the bottom of the course and was taken to a local hospital. Tests revealed no serious injuries, Austrian team officials said. World Cup downhill leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland was already on the course when Walchhofer went flying into the safety netting, forcing Cuche to restart. Cuche later finished 20th.
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Andrej Jerman gave Slovenia its first World Cup downhill win Friday, mastering a difficult course in tough conditions.
Jerman covered the 3,455-meter long Kandahar course in 1 minute, 56.82 seconds to beat Hans Grugger of Austria by 0.22 of a second. Erik Guay of Canada was third in 1:57.26.
Jerman's previous best finishes on the circuit were a pair of fourth places, one of them in a combined.
''This is amazing,'' the 28-year-old Slovene said. "I've been working a lot for this and I had to overcome many injuries in my career. This is a great reward."
Jerman took advantage of a relatively early starting number (11), when the course was still holding up in mild weather.
''The course was getting bad and soft, but I had no problems,'' he said.
"This is quite sensational, I did not really expect it to happen here today, but for sure I fought hard for this," Jerman said after the race. "I like demanding courses which require aggressive skiing. I already felt comfortable in Bormio last December. The snow was quite soft here but I could stay on the best line in the difficult turns and let run my skis in the fast parts. This win is huge for me but also for my team which has not done so well this winter. I worked hard for years to become a good downhiller. So far our team had better results in the technical events but downhill is much more fun and exciting."
Jerman finished 17th in downhill at the World Championship in Are, Sweden, less than two weeks ago.
Slovenia has produced a number of excellent technical skiers and winners in slalom and giant slalom races but until now it had no notable results in downhill and stages no World Cup downhill races.
Grugger, meanwhile, was not selected for Austria's World Championship team and made his first podium since 2005. Starting seventh was a help, the Austrian said. ''For late starters, it was incredibly difficult,'' he said.
Guay, who started 21st, agreed.
''It was surely a disadvantage to start late in these really tough conditions,'' the Canadian said. ''But I truly believe the best skiers can perform in any conditions.''
Friday's race replaced a downhill from Kitzbühel, Austria, that had to be called off in January because of bad conditions. Another downhill is scheduled for Saturday in this southern German resort, with a slalom to follow on Sunday.
Later starters that included several top-ranked skiers were well off the pace. Austria's Fritz Strobl, a former winner here, was the best of the top-guns in 11th place. He started in 25th position. Marco Buechel was 14th and reigning World Champion Aksel Svindal 16th. Hermann Maier finished 29th just behind Bode Miller while Michael Walchhofer, a two-time winner here two years ago, crashed once in the difficult last left turn situated a few seconds prior the finish line. Walchhofer was taken to a local hospital. Tests revealed no serious injuries, Austrian team officials said.
World Cup downhill leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland was already on the course when Walchhofer went flying into the safety netting. Cuche had to restart, also finishing well down the field, but 20th was still good enough for him to reinforce his lead in the downhill standings.
Steven Nyman led the U.S. Ski Team in 12th place, one spot ahead of Scott Macartney. Macartney started second out of the gate. Bode Miller struggled to find any speed on the lower section of the course in finishing 2.29 seconds back of Jerman in 28th place. Erik Fisher (40th) and JJ Johnson (42nd) rounded out the U.S. finishers. Marco Sullivan failed to finish.
"It was a late start [12:45 p.m. local time] because the race was picked up last month and this was the only time available on TV," U.S. downhill coach Chris Brigham explained. "It's full-on springtime here, grass and flowers growing, so early numbers played a role in how a skier did … and I think after bib 16 no one moved up very much, if at all."
The temperature at the start was more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit., more than 50 at the finish, indicating the soft conditions of the snow. "Steven and 'Mac' did a good job, and Mac moved closer to the top 25 to make World Cup Finals [he's 27th, 20 points away from 25th]…
"We've got another good opportunity [Saturday] with some early start numbers because they're saying the weather should hold, have some sunshine … and then rain Sunday for the slalom."
— The Associated Press, Manuele Lang and USSA contributed to this report
THE SCOOP
By Hank McKee
Equipment
Men's Downhill, Garmisch Partenkirchen,Germany, Feb. 23, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Jerman, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
2 Grugger, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
3 Guay, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Defago, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
5 Dalcin, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Gruber, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
7 Bottollier-Lasquin, Dynastar/Lange/Look
8 Buder, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
9 Kroell, Salomon/Nordica/Salomon
10 Staudacher, Head/Head/Tyrolia
Men's Downhill, Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Feb. 23, 2007. … It is the 25th race of the men's 38 race 2007 World Cup schedule. … It is the eighth of 11 downhills of the men's schedule. … It is a replacement race for Kitzbuehel race originally scheduled for Jan. 27. … Temperatures are warm (11c at the finish) and late starters had difficulty placing well. … It is the 32nd DH at Garmisch.
Andrej Jerman becomes the first Slovene skier to win a World Cup DH. … Spela Bracun (12/17/99 St Moritz) and Mojca Suhadolc (1/22/2000 Cortina) had held the national mark with third place finishes. … It is the first Slovene win of the season. … Tina Maze had won the last five for Slovenia all in GS between Oct. 26, 2002 and Oct. 22, 2005. … Jerman
had twice before placed as well as fourth, in combined Jan. 20, 2002 at Kitzbuehel and in DH earlier this season (Dec. 28) at Bormio. … He now owns four of the best nine finishes by Slovenes this season, including the best two. … He had not been better than 22nd at Garmisch previously. … He started 11th in the race.
It is the eighth career World Cup podium for Johan (Hans) Grugger. … the seventh in DH. … It is his first career second place finish. … His previous best at Garmisch had been fourth Feb. 18, 2005. … He started seventh. … His is the 64th podium result in World Cup for Austria this season. … He did not race at the World Championships. … His previous best this season was fourth in DH at Lake Louise Nov. 25.
It is the sixth career World Cup podium for Erik Guay. … fourth in DH. … It is his second podium of the season having placed second in DH at Val d'Isere Jan. 20. … Five Canadian men have tallied more than four DH podiums in DH: Edi Podivinsky 20, Ken Read 14, Todd Brooker 7, Rob Boyd 6 and Steve Podborski 5. … Guay is tenth in the DH standings.
It is the seventh best result of Steven Nyman's career. … fifth best (in World Cup) this season. … He was fourth at Garmisch in DH Jan. 28, 2006. … It is the sixth best career World Cup result for Scott Macartney. … His third best in DH. … It is his second best result of the season bettered by an eighth at Beaver Creek DH Dec. 1. … It is the tenth best career result for Manuel Osborne-Paradis. … His second best at Garmisch having been 20th Feb. 18, 2005. … It is his fourth best World Cup result of the season following podiums at Lake Louise and Val d'Isere and a fifth at Val Gardena. … It is the sixth best Cup result for Jan Hudec. … His best is eighth at Lake Louise DH Nov. 27, 2004. … It is his third best Cup result of the season, but he also won the silver medal in DH at World Championships and placed seventh in SG. … It is the 16th best (of 17 total) result for Bode Miller this season. … His best at Garmisch is third in DH in 2005.
Winning margin is .22 of a second. … Top nine skiers are within a second of the winner. … Top 22 within two seconds. … Didier Cuche (20th in race) leads the DH standings 447-347 over Marco Buechel (14th in race). … Bode Miller (28th in race) is fifth in the rankings at 273 and the top American. … Aksel Lund Svindal (16th in race) holds the overall standings lead 795-705 over Benjamin Raich (did not race). Cuche is third at 688 and Miller leads the U.S. in fourth at 643.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen men's World Cup downhill results
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | FIS Points |
1 | 11 | 560332 | JERMAN Andrej | 1978 | SLO | 1:56.82 | 0.00 |
2 | 7 | 50833 | GRUGGER Hans | 1981 | AUT | 1:57.04 | 2.54 |
3 | 21 | 102263 | GUAY Erik | 1981 | CAN | 1:57.26 | 5.08 |
4 | 15 | 510727 | DEFAGO Didier | 1977 | SUI | 1:57.29 | 5.43 |
5 | 13 | 191116 | DALCIN Pierre-Emmanuel | 1977 | FRA | 1:57.49 | 7.74 |
6 | 14 | 50451 | GRUBER Christoph | 1976 | AUT | 1:57.60 | 9.01 |
7 | 1 | 191415 | BOTTOLLIER-LASQUIN Marc | 1979 | FRA | 1:57.61 | 9.13 |
8 | 12 | 50695 | BUDER Andreas | 1979 | AUT | 1:57.73 | 10.52 |
9 | 16 | 50753 | KROELL Klaus | 1980 | AUT | 1:57.76 | 10.86 |
10 | 8 | 290998 | STAUDACHER Patrick | 1980 | ITA | 1:57.92 | 12.71 |
11 | 25 | 50182 | STROBL Fritz | 1972 | AUT | 1:57.96 | 13.17 |
12 | 18 | 533866 | NYMAN Steven | 1982 | USA | 1:58.02 | 13.87 |
13 | 2 | 532490 | MACARTNEY Scott | 1978 | USA | 1:58.08 | 14.56 |
14 | 28 | 350032 | BUECHEL Marco | 1971 | LIE | 1:58.09 | 14.68 |
15 | 17 | 510767 | HOFFMANN Ambrosi | 1977 | SUI | 1:58.10 | 14.79 |
16 | 24 | 421328 | SVINDAL Aksel Lund | 1982 | NOR | 1:58.20 | 15.95 |
17 | 5 | 500150 | JAERBYN Patrik | 1969 | SWE | 1:58.25 | 16.53 |
18 | 10 | 291641 | SULZENBACHER Kurt | 1976 | ITA | 1:58.27 | 16.76 |
19 | 3 | 510747 | GRUENENFELDER Tobias | 1977 | SUI | 1:58.39 | 18.14 |
20 | 30 | 510030 | CUCHE Didier | 1974 | SUI | 1:58.41 | 18.37 |
21 | 22 | 510478 | KERNEN Bruno | 1972 | SUI | 1:58.55 | 19.99 |
22 | 19 | 102899 | OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel | 1984 | CAN | 1:58.63 | 20.92 |
23 | 4 | 102271 | HUDEC Jan | 1981 | CAN | 1:58.82 | 23.11 |
24 | 6 | 191591 | BERTRAND Yannick | 1980 | FRA | 1:58.90 | 24.04 |
25 | 23 | 51005 | SCHEIBER Mario | 1983 | AUT | 1:58.94 | 24.50 |
26 | 31 | 510890 | ZURBRIGGEN Silvan | 1981 | SUI | 1:58.95 | 24.61 |
27 | 26 | 292455 | FILL Peter | 1982 | ITA | 1:59.07 | 26.00 |
28 | 27 | 532431 | MILLER Bode | 1977 | USA | 1:59.11 | 26.46 |
29 | 20 | 50423 | MAIER Hermann | 1972 | AUT | 1:59.21 | 27.62 |
30 | 35 | 191740 | CLAREY Johan | 1981 | FRA | 1:59.60 | 32.13 |
31 | 33 | 192746 | THEAUX Adrien | 1984 | FRA | 1:59.77 | 34.09 |
32 | 36 | 50858 | STREITBERGER Georg | 1981 | AUT | 1:59.93 | 35.94 |
32 | 34 | 291399 | GIRARDI Walter | 1976 | ITA | 1:59.93 | 35.94 |
34 | 39 | 560447 | SPORN Andrej | 1981 | SLO | 1:59.95 | 36.17 |
35 | 40 | 102873 | KUCERA John | 1984 | CAN | 1:59.99 | 36.63 |
36 | 42 | 292514 | HEEL Werner | 1982 | ITA | 2:00.22 | 39.29 |
37 | 47 | 191964 | POISSON David | 1982 | FRA | 2:00.29 | 40.10 |
38 | 41 | 291116 | FATTORI Alessandro | 1973 | ITA |   ;2:00.43 |
41.72 |
39 | 45 | 510165 | HOFER Beni | 1978 | SUI | 2:00.47 | 42.18 |
40 | 43 | 534939 | FISHER Erik | 1985 | USA | 2:00.56 | 43.22 |
41 | 50 | 201439 | STEHLE Johannes | 1981 | GER | 2:00.91 | 47.27 |
42 | 38 | 532173 | JOHNSON Justin J | 1977 | USA | 2:00.92 | 47.38 |
43 | 54 | 50742 | REICHELT Hannes | 1980 | AUT | 2:01.19 | 50.50 |
44 | 51 | 510969 | BONETTI Michael | 1982 | SUI | 2:01.25 | 51.19 |
45 | 48 | 293141 | VARETTONI Silvano | 1984 | ITA | 2:01.29 | 51.66 |
46 | 52 | 501026 | RAINER Niklas | 1983 | SWE | 2:01.74 | 56.86 |
47 | 56 | 201987 | STRODL Andreas | 1987 | GER | 2:01.80 | 57.55 |
48 | 53 | 292056 | GUFLER Michael | 1979 | ITA | 2:01.87 | 58.36 |
49 | 46 | 420911 | SOLBAKKEN Bjarne | 1977 | NOR | 2:01.96 | 59.40 |
50 | 44 | 510207 | HARI Konrad | 1978 | SUI | 2:02.34 | 63.79 |
51 | 58 | 201725 | WOELFL Mathias | 1984 | GER | 2:02.93 | 70.61 |
52 | 55 | 201850 | FISCHER Thomas | 1986 | GER | 2:03.65 | 78.93 |
53 | 57 | 202059 | FERSTL Josef | 1988 | GER | 2:03.84 | 81.12 |
|
Did not start 1st run:
BOURQUE Francois (CAN)
Did not finish 1st run:
OLSSON Hans (SWE), WALCHHOFER Michael (AUT), SULLIVAN Marco (USA)
Disqualified 1st run:
KEPPLER Stephan (GER)