Theaux sets pace in first and only men’s training run

By Published On: March 11th, 2014Comments Off on Theaux sets pace in first and only men’s training run
Frenchman Adrien Theaux in training at World Cup Finals. GEPA/Wolfgang Grebien

Frenchman Adrien Theaux in training at World Cup Finals. GEPA/Wolfgang Grebien

Adrien Theaux, the winner the last time a World Cup Finals downhill was actually held, in 2011, was fastest down the Silvano Beltrametti track by the narrowest 0.01 of a second over Switzerland’s Sandro Viletta Tuesday in the first and only training run at World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Carlo Janka was a surprise third, 0.04 back, with Olympic champion Mathias Mayer, of Austria, fourth, just 0.05 off the fastest pace. Travis Ganong, enjoying a late season surge that has brought him a third, fourth and fifth-place finish in his last three downhills, was seventh at 0.62 out. Ted Ligety was 12th in training. Bode Miller was the lone DNF. Canadians Manny Osborne-Paradise posted 18th and Erik Guay 20th. Christof Innerhofer appeared ready to take the lead, but lost a ton of time over the final split to finish 17th.

The weather was ideal, sunny and just below the freezing point. With weather claiming the downhills at finals in each of the last two seasons, the race being held is still no certainty. Aksel Lund Svindal, the 21st fastest finisher today, cannot be beaten for the downhill title regardless of the results.

“I like turning,” said Ganong in explaining why he favors the Lenzerheide downhill track. “There’s turns top to bottom. It’s not really a real downhill; there’s no gliding. There’s no jumps. It’s just turning top to bottom. So it’s just, you just have to nail the timing on all the turns. There’s quick tempo in a couple places. It’s a demanding course… short but demanding.”

Both the men and women are scheduled to race downhill on Wednesday, and the current forecast is favorable.

 

RESULTS

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff.
 1  14  192746 THEAUX Adrien 1984 FRA  1:31.54
 2  1  511352 VILETTA Sandro 1986 SUI  1:31.55  +0.01
 3  3  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:31.58  +0.04
 4  15  53902 MAYER Matthias 1990 AUT  1:31.59  +0.05
 5  7  292455 FILL Peter 1982 ITA  1:31.66  +0.12
 6  10  50858 STREITBERGER Georg 1981 AUT  1:31.72  +0.18
 7  6  530874 GANONG Travis 1988 USA  1:32.16  +0.62
 8  18  511139 KUENG Patrick 1984 SUI  1:32.26  +0.72
 9  16  191740 CLAREY Johan 1981 FRA  1:32.38  +0.84
 10  20  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR  1:32.53  +0.99
 11  11  291459 PARIS Dominik 1989 ITA  1:32.58  +1.04
 12  8  534562 LIGETY Ted 1984 USA  1:32.78  +1.24
 13  23  292514 HEEL Werner 1982 ITA  1:32.80  +1.26
 14  2  51215 BAUMANN Romed 1986 AUT  1:32.87  +1.33
 15  13  53817 FRANZ Max 1989 AUT  1:32.88  +1.34
 16  5  54005 STRIEDINGER Otmar 1991 AUT  1:33.09  +1.55
 17  9  293006 INNERHOFER Christof 1984 ITA  1:33.10  +1.56
 18  26  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel 1984 CAN  1:33.13  +1.59
 19  22  50753 KROELL Klaus 1980 AUT  1:33.30  +1.76
 20  19  102263 GUAY Erik 1981 CAN  1:33.33  +1.79
 21  17  421328 SVINDAL Aksel Lund 1982 NOR  1:33.49  +1.95
 22  4  293141 VARETTONI Silvano 1984 ITA  1:33.51  +1.97
 23  24  422310 SEJERSTED Adrian Smiseth 1994 NOR  1:33.52  +1.98
 24  12  510727 DEFAGO Didier 1977 SUI  1:33.54  +2.00
 25  21  192932 FAYED Guillermo 1985 FRA  1:36.40  +4.86
Did not finish 1st run
 25  532431 MILLER Bode 1977 USA

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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.”