Jansrud sets the pace at new Olympic venue
As the clock continues to count down towards the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, it was unclear whether the men’s downhill and super G test events would even happen. Questions about the venue and its gondola being ready in time for this weekend’s races dominated discussion in the months leading up to the test event, but things came together and the men’s tour is now in South Korea for downhill and super G action.
Racers were unsure of what to expect, as the Jeongseon track has never seen racing of any kind prior to this week. Social media indicates that teams were pleasantly surprised with the venue and its flowy, jump-filled course set.
Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud set the pace in both of the training runs contested ahead of Saturday’s downhill.
“I guess you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” Jansrud shared on his Instagram account on Thursday. “And PyeongChang just aced it. This will be a fantastic venue.”
Jansrud’s pace time of 1:42.65 in the first training run bested second place’s Rommed Baumann of Austria by 0.13 seconds. This year’s Hahnenkamm winner, Peter Fill of Italy, was third, 0.35 seconds off of Janrsud’s pace.
“The race course is in amazing conditions,” said Jansrud. “Probably the best we’ve had since Beaver Creek, and the sun is out, which is great because the last four downhills run were in foggy weather or rain, so it’s about time. Hopefully we have a good race here in the Far East, and we’ll see how far I can go.”
The American Downhillers also had a strong showing in training run one, landing five skiers into the top 22, led by Andrew Weibrecht and Travis Ganong in a tie for fourth. Steven Nyman followed in sixth, Marco Sullivan in 12th, and Wiley Maple in 22nd. Jared Goldberg, Bryce Bennett, and Thomas Biesemeyer finished outside of the top 30 in 31st, 40th, and 50th, respectively.
“The track is a lot of fun. It has big, long, sweeping turns, kind of like the lower half of Copper,” explained Nyman. “It’s definitely a different culture over here. The food and the people and not understanding anything. I’m coming here with open eyes.”
Not everyone was as enamored with the new venue as Jansrud and the Americans, however, with 2014 Olympic silver medalist Christoph Innerhofer lodging some criticisms of the track.
“Downhill is [called] downhill because you must go 130-160kph,” the Italian said. “When you see the speed and you see 96 kph a lot of people will say, ‘What is this for downhill? I can do this, too.’ This is a little bit sad.”
“It’s hard to have a track that makes everyone happy,” said Jansurd – who is also the athlete representative this week – in response to the criticism. “This downhill is perfect for some athletes, and for others it needs adjustments like open some gates or shape the jumps. I personally like it that way, it’s a lot of fun with all these jumps, but my job is to bring the feedbacks to the Race Directors so they can adapt the course before race day.”
Jansrud also set the pace in training run two with a total time of 1:41.18 seconds, 0.39 and 0.49 seconds ahead of a pair of Italians with Fill and Dominik Paris in second and third, respectively.
The Americans once again had five skiers inside the top 30, with Nyman leading in fourth, Ganong finished eighth, Weibrecht 21st, Biesemeyer 22nd, Sullivan 30th, Maple 36th, Goldberg 42nd, and Bennett 46th.
“Yesterday, we learned a lot in video review,” Nyman said. “I was happy with my skiing, I still had a couple of little mistakes down here, but I’ll look at more video tonight and hopefully clean that up tomorrow and push for the podium. I’m comfortable here and I’m comfortable with my body and my skiing right now, so it’s really nice.”
Weibrecht’s mind may have been elsewhere, though, as he and his wife Denja became first-time parents as Denja gave birth to a little girl on Feb. 4 named Adelina back home in New York.
With the time change, fans in North American will actually be able to watch Saturday’s race on Friday night, as downhill action is slated to get underway at 12 noon local time, or 10 p.m. EST.
Official Results Training One
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | Diff. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | 421483 | JANSRUD Kjetil | 1985 | NOR | 1:42.65 | ||||
2 | 8 | 51215 | BAUMANN Romed | 1986 | AUT | 1:42.78 | +0.13 | |||
3 | 17 | 292455 | FILL Peter | 1982 | ITA | 1:43.00 | +0.35 | |||
4 | 26 | 530939 | WEIBRECHT Andrew | 1986 | USA | 1:43.36 | +0.71 | |||
4 | 13 | 530874 | GANONG Travis | 1988 | USA | 1:43.36 | +0.71 | |||
6 | 9 | 533866 | NYMAN Steven | 1982 | USA | 1:43.43 | +0.78 | |||
7 | 3 | 194167 | MUZATON Maxence | 1990 | FRA | 1:43.50 | +0.85 | |||
8 | 7 | 422139 | KILDE Aleksander Aamodt | 1992 | NOR | 1:43.61 | +0.96 | |||
9 | 22 | 200379 | SANDER Andreas | 1989 | GER | 1:43.65 | +1.00 | |||
10 | 27 | 53980 | KRIECHMAYR Vincent | 1991 | AUT | 1:43.78 | +1.13 | |||
10 | 20 | 102263 | GUAY Erik | 1981 | CAN | 1:43.78 | +1.13 | |||
12 | 2 | 533131 | SULLIVAN Marco | 1980 | USA | 1:43.81 | +1.16 | |||
13 | 38 | 194298 | GIEZENDANNER Blaise | 1991 | FRA | 1:43.82 | +1.17 | |||
14 | 4 | 191964 | POISSON David | 1982 | FRA | 1:43.87 | +1.22 | |||
15 | 29 | 50753 | KROELL Klaus | 1980 | AUT | 1:43.89 | +1.24 | |||
16 | 19 | 511313 | JANKA Carlo | 1986 | SUI | 1:43.95 | +1.30 | |||
17 | 10 | 192932 | FAYED Guillermo | 1985 | FRA | 1:43.97 | +1.32 | |||
18 | 14 | 291459 | PARIS Dominik | 1989 | ITA | 1:44.06 | +1.41 | |||
19 | 39 | 202535 | DRESSEN Thomas | 1993 | GER | 1:44.17 | +1.52 | |||
20 | 34 | 511981 | WEBER Ralph | 1993 | SUI | 1:44.27 | +1.62 | |||
21 | 11 | 192746 | THEAUX Adrien | 1984 | FRA | 1:44.30 | +1.65 | |||
22 | 47 | 930024 | MAPLE Wiley | 1990 | USA | 1:44.41 | +1.76 | |||
23 | 32 | 560447 | SPORN Andrej | 1981 | SLO | 1:44.42 | +1.77 | |||
24 | 24 | 293550 | MARSAGLIA Matteo | 1985 | ITA | 1:44.49 | +1.84 | |||
24 | 6 | 54005 | STRIEDINGER Otmar | 1991 | AUT | 1:44.49 | +1.84 | |||
26 | 30 | 561216 | KLINE Bostjan | 1991 | SLO | 1:44.50 | +1.85 | |||
27 | 35 | 194542 | GIRAUD MOINE Valentin | 1992 | FRA | 1:44.61 | +1.96 | |||
28 | 18 | 50742 | REICHELT Hannes | 1980 | AUT | 1:44.62 | +1.97 | |||
29 | 5 | 511529 | GISIN Marc | 1988 | SUI | 1:44.77 | +2.12 | |||
30 | 45 | 990081 | CASSE Mattia | 1990 | ITA | 1:44.80 | +2.15 | |||
31 | 37 | 934643 | GOLDBERG Jared | 1991 | USA | 1:44.81 | +2.16 | |||
32 | 41 | 561255 | CATER Martin | 1992 | SLO | 1:44.91 | +2.26 | |||
32 | 15 | 293006 | INNERHOFER Christof | 1984 | ITA | 1:44.91 | +2.26 | |||
34 | 1 | 103271 | THOMSEN Benjamin | 1987 | CAN | 1:44.92 | +2.27 | |||
35 | 12 | 511383 | FEUZ Beat | 1987 | SUI | 1:44.93 | +2.28 | |||
36 | 21 | 191740 | CLAREY Johan | 1981 | FRA | 1:45.00 | +2.35 | |||
37 | 42 | 180570 | ROMAR Andreas | 1989 | FIN | 1:45.12 | +2.47 | |||
38 | 28 | 102899 | OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel | 1984 | CAN | 1:45.29 | +2.64 | |||
39 | 46 | 202196 | BRANDNER Klaus | 1990 | GER | 1:45.33 | +2.68 | |||
40 | 23 | 6530104 | BENNETT Bryce | 1992 | USA | 1:45.39 | +2.74 | |||
41 | 25 | 292514 | HEEL Werner | 1982 | ITA | 1:45.47 | +2.82 | |||
42 | 50 | 511638 | TUMLER Thomas | 1989 | SUI | 1:45.51 | +2.86 | |||
43 | 33 | 53933 | SCHWEIGER Patrick | 1990 | AUT | 1:45.54 | +2.89 | |||
44 | 40 | 103512 | FRISCH Jeffrey | 1984 | CAN | 1:45.64 | +2.99 | |||
45 | 48 | 511847 | MANI Nils | 1992 | SUI | 1:45.66 | +3.01 | |||
46 | 44 | 380292 | ZRNCIC DIM Natko | 1986 | CRO | 1:45.81 | +3.16 | |||
47 | 36 | 561217 | KOSI Klemen | 1991 | SLO | 1:45.85 | +3.20 | |||
48 | 49 | 110324 | VON APPEN Henrik | 1994 | CHI | 1:46.24 | +3.59 | |||
49 | 51 | 6290985 | BUZZI Emanuele | 1994 | ITA | 1:46.33 | +3.68 | |||
50 | 43 | 531452 | BIESEMEYER Thomas | 1989 | USA | 1:46.35 | +3.70 | |||
51 | 56 | 370022 | JENOT Olivier | 1988 | MON | 1:46.98 | +4.33 | |||
52 | 53 | 303758 | SUGAI Ryo | 1991 | JPN | 1:47.21 | +4.56 | |||
53 | 54 | 700830 | ZAMPA Adam | 1990 | SVK | 1:47.58 | +4.93 | |||
54 | 57 | 700879 | ZAMPA Andreas | 1993 | SVK | 1:48.70 | +6.05 | |||
55 | 55 | 990116 | DE ALIPRANDINI Luca | 1990 | ITA | 1:48.82 | +6.17 | |||
56 | 31 | 53831 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 1:49.98 | +7.33 | |||
Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
52 | 192504 | MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas | 1984 | FRA |
Official Results Training Two
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | Diff. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | 421483 | JANSRUD Kjetil | 1985 | NOR | 1:41.18 | ||||
2 | 15 | 292455 | FILL Peter | 1982 | ITA | 1:41.57 | +0.39 | |||
3 | 19 | 291459 | PARIS Dominik | 1989 | ITA | 1:41.67 | +0.49 | |||
4 | 9 | 533866 | NYMAN Steven | 1982 | USA | 1:41.68 | +0.50 | |||
5 | 10 | 102263 | GUAY Erik | 1981 | CAN | 1:41.76 | +0.58 | |||
6 | 2 | 200379 | SANDER Andreas | 1989 | GER | 1:42.07 | +0.89 | |||
7 | 11 | 511313 | JANKA Carlo | 1986 | SUI | 1:42.09 | +0.91 | |||
8 | 12 | 530874 | GANONG Travis | 1988 | USA | 1:42.35 | +1.17 | |||
9 | 17 | 50742 | REICHELT Hannes | 1980 | AUT | 1:42.45 | +1.27 | |||
9 | 13 | 511383 | FEUZ Beat | 1987 | SUI | 1:42.45 | +1.27 | |||
11 | 18 | 192932 | FAYED Guillermo | 1985 | FRA | 1:42.58 | +1.40 | |||
12 | 20 | 53980 | KRIECHMAYR Vincent | 1991 | AUT | 1:42.62 | +1.44 | |||
12 | 1 | 191964 | POISSON David | 1982 | FRA | 1:42.62 | +1.44 | |||
14 | 24 | 561216 | KLINE Bostjan | 1991 | SLO | 1:42.76 | +1.58 | |||
15 | 14 | 192746 | THEAUX Adrien | 1984 | FRA | 1:42.90 | +1.72 | |||
16 | 6 | 191740 | CLAREY Johan | 1981 | FRA | 1:43.00 | +1.82 | |||
17 | 8 | 293006 | INNERHOFER Christof | 1984 | ITA | 1:43.04 | +1.86 | |||
18 | 35 | 194542 | GIRAUD MOINE Valentin | 1992 | FRA | 1:43.06 | +1.88 | |||
19 | 7 | 51215 | BAUMANN Romed | 1986 | AUT | 1:43.11 | +1.93 | |||
20 | 3 | 511529 | GISIN Marc | 1988 | SUI | 1:43.29 | +2.11 | |||
21 | 26 | 530939 | WEIBRECHT Andrew | 1986 | USA | 1:43.53 | +2.35 | |||
22 | 43 | 531452 | BIESEMEYER Thomas | 1989 | USA | 1:43.54 | +2.36 | |||
23 | 21 | 194167 | MUZATON Maxence | 1990 | FRA | 1:43.55 | +2.37 | |||
24 | 38 | 194298 | GIEZENDANNER Blaise | 1991 | FRA | 1:43.60 | +2.42 | |||
25 | 45 | 990081 | CASSE Mattia | 1990 | ITA | 1:43.67 | +2.49 | |||
26 | 32 | 560447 | SPORN Andrej | 1981 | SLO | 1:43.68 | +2.50 | |||
27 | 22 | 422139 | KILDE Aleksander Aamodt | 1992 | NOR | 1:43.74 | +2.56 | |||
28 | 29 | 54005 | STRIEDINGER Otmar | 1991 | AUT | 1:43.75 | +2.57 | |||
28 | 25 | 293550 | MARSAGLIA Matteo | 1985 | ITA | 1:43.75 | +2.57 | |||
30 | 28 | 533131 | SULLIVAN Marco | 1980 | USA | 1:43.82 | +2.64 | |||
31 | 27 | 50753 | KROELL Klaus | 1980 | AUT | 1:43.84 | +2.66 | |||
32 | 34 | 511981 | WEBER Ralph | 1993 | SUI | 1:43.88 | +2.70 | |||
33 | 46 | 202196 | BRANDNER Klaus | 1990 | GER | 1:43.97 | +2.79 | |||
34 | 39 | 202535 | DRESSEN Thomas | 1993 | GER | 1:44.10 | +2.92 | |||
35 | 44 | 380292 | ZRNCIC DIM Natko | 1986 | CRO | 1:44.16 | +2.98 | |||
36 | 47 | 930024 | MAPLE Wiley | 1990 | USA | 1:44.19 | +3.01 | |||
37 | 33 | 53933 | SCHWEIGER Patrick | 1990 | AUT | 1:44.23 | +3.05 | |||
38 | 49 | 110324 | VON APPEN Henrik | 1994 | CHI | 1:44.31 | +3.13 | |||
39 | 48 | 511847 | MANI Nils | 1992 | SUI | 1:44.40 | +3.22 | |||
40 | 42 | 180570 | ROMAR Andreas | 1989 | FIN | 1:44.43 | +3.25 | |||
41 | 51 | 6290985 | BUZZI Emanuele | 1994 | ITA | 1:44.44 | +3.26 | |||
42 | 37 | 934643 | GOLDBERG Jared | 1991 | USA | 1:44.50 | +3.32 | |||
43 | 5 | 292514 | HEEL Werner | 1982 | ITA | 1:44.63 | +3.45 | |||
44 | 4 | 103271 | THOMSEN Benjamin | 1987 | CAN | 1:44.64 | +3.46 | |||
45 | 30 | 102899 | OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel | 1984 | CAN | 1:44.66 | +3.48 | |||
46 | 23 | 6530104 | BENNETT Bryce | 1992 | USA | 1:44.89 | +3.71 | |||
47 | 55 | 990116 | DE ALIPRANDINI Luca | 1990 | ITA | 1:44.95 | +3.77 | |||
48 | 31 | 53831 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 1:45.16 | +3.98 | |||
49 | 50 | 511638 | TUMLER Thomas | 1989 | SUI | 1:45.43 | +4.25 | |||
50 | 53 | 303758 | SUGAI Ryo | 1991 | JPN | 1:45.71 | +4.53 | |||
51 | 36 | 561217 | KOSI Klemen | 1991 | SLO | 1:45.77 | +4.59 | |||
52 | 54 | 700830 | ZAMPA Adam | 1990 | SVK | 1:46.27 | +5.09 | |||
53 | 56 | 370022 | JENOT Olivier | 1988 | MON | 1:46.84 | +5.66 | |||
54 | 57 | 700879 | ZAMPA Andreas | 1993 | SVK | 1:47.83 | +6.65 | |||
55 | 40 | 103512 | FRISCH Jeffrey | 1984 | CAN | 1:48.54 | +7.36 | |||
Did not start 1st run | ||||||||||
52 | 192504 | MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas | 1984 | FRA | ||||||
Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
41 | 561255 | CATER Martin | 1992 | SLO |