Val Gardena: Walchhofer wins, Scottie Mac third

By Published On: December 15th, 2007Comments Off on Val Gardena: Walchhofer wins, Scottie Mac third

Michael Walchhofer excised his demons at Val Gardena by collecting his first win on the one downhill track that has eluded him. Walchhofer got his ninth World Cup DH win Saturday, Dec. 15, on Val Gardena's Saslong and can now add that to a list of conquered race courses that includes Kitzbuehel, Wengen, Val d'Isere, Garmisch, Bormio and, as of Nov. 30,  Beaver Creek.
    Swiss veteran Didier Cuche made it two podiums in two days adding second in the downhill to the super G win from Friday while American Scott Macartney posted his second career podium in third.
    Macartney was the third different U.S. male to collect a downhill podium in three races this season, speaking well for the U.S. depth.
    "It was a real, good, solid run," said Macartney, adding that it was "Pretty much fast, and everything that Val Gardena has to offer. I've got to go to the podium now, Ciao."
    If it hadn't been Macartney on the podium, there was a pretty good chance it might have been a North American anyway. Canadian Erik Guay posted fourth and teammate Manuel Osborne-Paradis was sixth. Bode Miller was eighth giving the North Americans a strong four skier top 10 showing.


MICHAEL WALCHHOFER
excised his demons at Val Gardena by collecting his first win on the one downhill track that has eluded him. Walchhofer got his ninth World Cup DH win Saturday, Dec. 15, on Val Gardena's Saslong and can now add that to a list of conquered race courses that includes Kitzbuehel, Wengen, Val d'Isere, Garmisch, Bormio and, as of Nov. 30,  Beaver Creek. He becomes just the fifth racer to win on all five of the "classic" downhills, Val d'Isere, Wengen, Kitzbuehl and Garmisch are the others.
   Swiss veteran Didier Cuche made it two podiums in two days adding second in the downhill to the super G win from Friday while American Scott Macartney posted his second career podium in third.
    “I’m proud to have put this race on my list of great victories, it’s something really special to belong to that small group of great skiers having excelled on the most prestigious downhill courses," Walchhofer said.    
   Macartney was the third different U.S. male to collect a downhill podium in three races this season, speaking well for the U.S. depth.

    "It was a real, good, solid run," said Macartney, adding that it was "Pretty much fast, and everything that Val Gardena has to offer. I've got to go to the podium now, Ciao."
    If it hadn't been Macartney on the podium, there was a pretty good chance it might have been a North American anyway. Canadian Erik Guay posted fourth and teammate Manuel Osborne-Paradis was sixth. Bode Miller was eighth giving the North Americans a strong four skier top 10 showing.
    “It’s frustrating and somewhat disappointing," Guay said. "I was certain to have the third place and then Macartney came in a couple of racers after me and took it away. But I have no one else to blame but myself.”
    “It feels pretty good to finally break the top 10," Osborne-Paradis said. "I didn’t think I was going to do it. After the training run, I figured I could tuck more and attack more, which I did in the race."
    But the day belonged to Walchhofer and a magnificent recovery. Walchhofer almost crashed into a gate heading into the tricky, turn-filled Ciaslat section but had established such a big lead before the mistake that the lost time didn't affect his result. He credited his tech rep with providing "madly fast" skis and allowing his to win.
    Although the Camel jumps took their toll – Switzerland's Silvan Zurbriggen suffered a bad crash, tore ligements in his knee and was flown home to undergo surgery. His season is unfortunately over before really beginning- they weren't Walchhofer's problem.
"My jump was fine but then I went out too large in the next big left turns and I had to fight hard to get back on the fastest line. It cost me some time so I was really happy to beat Didier Cuche by .18. Apparently he achieved an amazing race in the lower part. He is in great shape and I guess our duel is going to be quite exciting this season."
    Cuche indicated he was not too upset to finish second in back to back seasons."I did my best especially at the bottom of the course. I took huge risks but Michael was really impressive in the upper part, he is just an amazing glider," Cuche said. "I gave what I had in me and then I can't have any regrets."
    Cuche allowed that the rigors of touring may have played a role. "You know it's not easy to move at your limits two days in a row especially after having won the first day. I only went to bed at midnight after all the obligations and meetings and celebrations. I'm flying right now with the chopper to Alta Badia on the other side of the mountain so I also had to prepare my luggage. This is not easy at all."
    Bode Miller came in eighth. The American finished second in Friday's super-G and was on pace for another podium finish until he got a little wild on the lower section of the course.
    "Bode had a hip check in the Ciaslat," said U.S. coach Phil McNichol, "or else I think he would have also had a big day."
    Defending Val Gardena downhill champion Steven Nyman, got his skis tangled and fell five seconds into his run.
    "He was skating and I believe got his pole between his legs, fell on his face and slide down on his stomach," said McNichol. "He came out of the start about five or six skates and boom. It was a super bummer. He was really focused and on his game in training. We had worked out some stuff in video and he was psyched. He had the same (bib) number as last season (when he won) … he was obviously torn."
    Organizers made some slight changes to the Saslong course this season, widening it in some sections and making jumps bigger in others, particularly near the finish, although the defining features remain the camel bumps and the Ciaslat section. Conditions were near perfect, with only a little wind at the top. "It's always difficult," said McNichol. "Speed was high and they all were getting big, big air on the Camelbumps."
    He said he was pleased with the team results. "They're all helping each other out. Marco (Sullivan) had a little trouble and then felt he had to push the line, so he was disappointed. And Nyman, obviously, was a disappointment. But at least they're all coming and sharing their success."
    The Canadians were pleased as well. "Conditions were very good. The snow was great and the temperature was perfect. I’ll have to look at the video to see how my start went but I finished really strong. I attacked the bottom and felt really good on my skis,” said Guay.
    Val Gardena is celebrating its 40th year of World Cup racing this week
end.
    The men's circuit traverses the Gardena pass for Sunday's traditional giant slalom in Alta Badia, and a slalom on Monday.
    On Sunday, the skier to beat should once more be Benjamin Raich, who has never won a race at Alta Badia. Like Walchhofer, he has excelled in all the other major Classics of the World Cup calendar. Yet the Italian team with Manfred Moelgg, Max Blardone or Patrick Thaler who did so well last week at Bad Kleinkirchheim, will be difficult to beat on the tough Gran Risa course.

   
    — Patrick Lang, Alpine Canada and AP contributed to this article.

 

 


 

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee 

Equipment, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 15, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Walchhofer, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
3 Macartney, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
4 Guay, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Hoffmann, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
6 Osborne-Paradis, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
7 Jerman, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
8 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
9 Kroell, Salomon/Nordica/Salomon
10 Buder, Head/Lange/Tyrolia

Men's downhill, Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 15, 2007. … It is the 12th race of the men's 1 event 2007-08 World Cup schedule. … It is the third of 10 scheduled downhills. … It is the second of two races set for Val Gardena, though there are races Sunday And Monday at nearby Alta Badia. … It is the 40th Saslong Classic, the traditional downhill on the track. … The 45th Cup downhill held at the site. … The 62nd Cup race.
    It is the 13th career World Cup win for Michael Walchhofer. … His 10th in DH, matching him with Pirmin Zurbriggen, Lasse Kjus, Luc Alphand and Helmet Hoeflehner for seventh on the all-time DH win list for men. … It is his first DH win at Val Gardena, though he won the super G Dec. 17, 2004. … It is his second win of the season having also claimed the Beaver Creek DH Nov. 30.
    It is the 35th career World Cup podium for Didier Cuche. … His third at Val Gardena. … He was also second last season Dec. 16, 2006. … It is the 16th time he has placed second in a World Cup race. … It is his fifth podium of the season and second in two days having won the super G Friday.
    It is the second career podium for Scott Macartney. … He was second in SG at Garmisch Jan. 29, 2006. … His best non-podium result also comes from Val Gardena as he was seventh in SG Dec. 16, 2005. … Half of his top six results have been at Val Gardena. … His best this season prior to this podium had been 17th in SG at Lake Louise. … It is the ninth podium of the season for the U.S. squad. … Macartney is the seventh American to score a Cup podium this season, and the third male to do so in DH in three races.
    It is the tenth best result of Erik Guay's career and the first time he has finished fourth in a World Cup race. … It is his third best result at Val Gardena having previously placed second in SG Dec. 16, 2005 and third in DH Dec. 17, 2005. … It is the fourth best career Cup result for Manuel Osborne-Paradis. … He was fifth last season in the Val Gardena and podiumed at Val d'Isere Jan. 20, 2007 and at Lake Louise Nov. 25, 2006 all in DH. … It is the 108th top 10 for Bode Miller's World Cup career. … Eighth matches his fifth best career result at Val Gardena and matches his best DH result at the site from 2005. … TJ Lanning just missed points finishing in a tie for 31st place, .03 of a second from gaining a point. … It was the first career scoring result for German Andreas Strodl.
    Winning margin is .18 of a second. … Top six are within the same second. … Top 19 within two seconds. … Cuche takes over the lead in the overall standings 453-441 over Benjamin Raich (did not race). … Daniel Albrecht (did not race) is third at 332. … Bode Miller is the top American on the overall list in fourth at 306. … Walchhofer extends his lead in the downhill standings to 218-154 over Cuche. … Hudec is third at 114. …Steven Nyman (DNF in race) is the top American on the DH chart in fifth with 96pts.  … Austria leads the men's Nations Cup standings 2274-1541 for Switzerland. … Italy is third with 1082pts and the U.S. fourth at 934.


Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time FIS Points
 1  22  50041 WALCHHOFER Michael  1975  AUT   1:56.70  0.00
 2  17  510030 CUCHE Didier  1974  SUI   1:56.88  2.08
 3  23  532490 MACARTNEY Scott  1978  USA   1:57.26  6.48
 4  20  102263 GUAY Erik  1981  CAN   1:57.54  9.72
 5  11  510767 HOFFMANN Ambrosi  1977  SUI   1:57.62  10.64
 6  14  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel  1984  CAN   1:57.67  11.22
 7  16  560332 JERMAN Andrej  1978  SLO   1:57.83  13.07
 8  21  532431 MILLER Bode  1977  USA   1:57.85  13.30
 9  28  50753 KROELL Klaus  1980  AUT   1:57.96  14.58
 10  15  50695 BUDER Andreas  1979  AUT   1:57.98  14.81
 11  34  501076 OLSSON Hans  1984  SWE   1:58.07  15.85
 12  1  510727 DEFAGO Didier  1977  SUI   1:58.12  16.43
 13  13  50451 GRUBER Christoph  1976  AUT   1:58.24  17.81
 14  10  291641 SULZENBACHER Kurt  1976  ITA   1:58.29  18.39
 15  19  350032 BUECHEL Marco  1971  LIE   1:58.60  21.98
 16  18  292455 FILL Peter  1982  ITA   1:58.62  22.21
 17  52  201439 STEHLE Johannes  1981  GER   1:58.66  22.67
 17  3  292514 HEEL Werner  1982  ITA   1:58.66  22.67
 19  37  510165 HOFER Beni  1978  SUI   1:58.69  23.02
 20  39  192932 FAYED Guillermo  1985  FRA   1:58.72  23.37
 21  30  191116 DALCIN Pierre-Emmanuel  1977  FRA   1:58.77  23.95
 22  31  192746 THEAUX Adrien  1984  FRA   1:58.81  24.41
 23  25  50423 MAIER Hermann  1972  AUT   1:58.82  24.52
 24  8  51005 SCHEIBER Mario  1983  AUT   1:58.89  25.33
 25  59  201987 STRODL Andreas  1987  GER   1:58.99  26.49
 26  53  510207 HARI Konrad  1978  SUI   1:59.07  27.42
 27  44  40171 BRANCH Craig  1977  AUS   1:59.16  28.46
 28  7  510747 GRUENENFELDER Tobias  1977  SUI   1:59.18  28.69
 29  6  191740 CLAREY Johan  1981  FRA   1:59.28  29.85
 30  40  201606 KEPPLER Stephan  1983  GER   1:59.30  30.08
 31  54  534567 LANNING Thomas (tj)  1984  USA   1:59.33  30.42
 31  27  290998 STAUDACHER Patrick  1980  ITA   1:59.33  30.42
 33  48  292291 THANEI Stefan  1981  ITA   1:59.34  30.54
 34  24  191591 BERTRAND Yannick  1980  F
RA 
 1:59.38  31.00
 35  32  51215 BAUMANN Romed  1986  AUT   1:59.40  31.23
 36  4  102873 KUCERA John  1984  CAN   1:59.50  32.39
 37  9  102271 HUDEC Jan  1981  CAN   1:59.53  32.74
 38  45  510498 ZUEGER Cornel  1981  SUI   1:59.54  32.85
 38  2  50858 STREITBERGER Georg  1981  AUT   1:59.54  32.85
 40  51  293006 INNERHOFER Christof  1984  ITA   1:59.62  33.78
 41  26  533131 SULLIVAN Marco  1980  USA   1:59.63  33.89
 42  35  291399 GIRARDI Walter  1976  ITA   1:59.74  35.17
 43  47  50761 ALSTER Christoph  1980  AUT   1:59.77  35.51
 44  33  191964 POISSON David  1982  FRA   1:59.80  35.86
 45  55  50742 REICHELT Hannes  1980  AUT   1:59.82  36.09
 46  57  191755 GARNIER Thibault  1981  FRA   1:59.87  36.67
 47  41  191911 NOCENTI Cyril  1982  FRA   2:00.07  38.98
 48  56  561006 GLEBOV Alek  1983  SLO   2:00.14  39.79
 49  5  191415 BOTTOLLIER-LASQUIN Marc  1979  FRA   2:00.35  42.22
 50  58  102961 DIXON Robbie  1985  CAN   2:00.47  43.61
 51  43  291389 FISCHNALLER Roland  1975  ITA   2:00.63  45.46
 52  36  561067 PERKO Rok  1985  SLO   2:01.02  49.97
 53  49  193034 BOUILLOT Alexandre  1985  FRA   2:06.98  118.92
 54  60  60159 VAN BUYNDER Frederik  1988  BEL   2:09.75  150.96

 

Did not start 1st run : BANK Ondrej (CZE), BOURQUE Francois (CAN)

Did not finish 1st run : BONETTI Michael (SUI), WEIBRECHT Andrew (USA), ZURBRIGGEN Silvan (SUI), NYMAN Steven (USA)

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