Fill victorious in Kvitfjell super-G

By Published On: February 26th, 2017Comments Off on Fill victorious in Kvitfjell super-G

Sunshine once again graced the Olympiabakken slope in Kvitfjell, Norway, as the men wrapped up their weekend of racing with super-G on Sunday. Italian Peter Fill took his first win of the season and the first super-G win of his career with a time of 1:32.83 seconds. Austrian veteran Hannes Reichelt landed in second place, 0.10 seconds back, and reigning Super-G World Champion Erik Guay of Canada was third, 0.23 seconds off of Fill’s pace.

Although the skies in Kvitfjell were more or less clear, dark shadows were cast on the course in the morning and the first several racers dealt with a bit of flat light before the sun found its way onto the track. Fill kicked out of the gate wearing bib 10 and linked together turn after turn and effortlessly slid into the lead by a comfortable margin. Guay then came down in second place from bib 15 before Reichelt found some wiggle room and punched it into second place. It was a tight race with only 1.60 seconds separating Fill from 30th-place finisher Felix Monsen of Sweden. The tight times meant there was no room for error as several big names found themselves uncharacteristically well down on the results sheet.

Although Fill had to wait 15 years to top the podium in super-G, the Italian wasn’t about to rest on his laurels as his sights have already shifted to World Cup Finals, where he is in contention for the downhill title.

KVITFJELL,NORWAY,26.FEB.17 - ALPINE SKIING - FIS World Cup, Super G, men. Image shows the rejoicing of Peter Fill (ITA). Photo: GEPA pictures/ Thomas Bachun

Photo: GEPA pictures/ Thomas Bachun

“It was a long wait for me to get the first super-G win, but I’m really happy,” said Fill. “I made a great run, no mistakes and everywhere a good line and good speed. It was perfect for me today. The whole form for the season was good, but now, in the first downhill here in Kvitfjell. I was really bad, no speed and a lot of mistakes, but yesterday and today was great. I hope now to bring my performance to Aspen. It’s a really important race there.”

After a lackluster World Championships, climbing back on the podium was just what Reichelt needed in order to pick up some momentum and finish the season strong as he eyes podium finishes in the super-G and downhill season standings.

“I think I had a lot of luck with the sun,” admitted Reichelt. “The first start numbers had the bad light, and I think after ten or something then weather was changing and we had some sun. That was luck, good that I had luck because two days ago I had some wind and that was the reason why I wasn’t so fast in downhill. The second key was skiing aggressive, especially in parts where I did a good line. On the start I was saying, ‘Ok, just ski like I inspect.’ I had done my inspection and didn’t hear too much on the radio, that was the key.”

Guay, still riding a wave of confidence after his gold and silver performances in super-G and downhill at World Championships, shows no signs of slowing down as the 35-year-old looks forward to ending the season on a high note.

“It’s been great, you know,” Guay explained. “It’s been a good weekend, fourth and sixth in the downhill, but it’s always fun to leave a race series with a bit of hardware. I’m happy with the way I skied today, and I’m excited to get back home to my girls. I don’t feel particularly old; I think that things are going better now. I’m happy physically and technically, and I’ll keep charging. I think I keep improving like a fine wine.”

Unfortunately for the Americans, Thomas Biesemeyer was the lone finisher in the points with a 19th-place finish. Brennan Rubie, Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, and Andrew Weibrecht finished in 33rd, 34th, 45th, and 47th place, respectively. Jared Goldberg did not start following his crash in Saturday’s downhill.

The men now head to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for the final slalom and giant slalom races before World Cup Finals on Feb. 4-5.

Fans can stay up to date on World Cup by  downloading the U.S. Ski Team – Ski Racing app for iOS and Android.


Top 10

  1. Peter Fill (ITA) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  2. Hannes Reichelt (AUT) – Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
  3. Erik Guay (CAN) – Head/Head/Head
  4. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  5. Beat Feuz (SUI) – Head/Head/Head
  6. Martin Cater (SLO) – Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
  7. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) – Head/Head/Head
  8. Bostjan Kline (SLO) – Stoeckli/Head/Atomic
  9. Mauro Caviezel (SUI) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  10. Manuel Osborne-Paradis (CAN) – Head/Head/Head

Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff. FIS Points WC Points
 1  10  292455 FILL Peter 1982 ITA  1:32.83  0.00  100.00
 2  19  50742 REICHELT Hannes 1980 AUT  1:32.93  +0.10  1.16  80.00
 3  15  102263 GUAY Erik 1981 CAN  1:33.06  +0.23  2.68  60.00
 4  13  422139 KILDE Aleksander Aamodt 1992 NOR  1:33.19  +0.36  4.19  50.00
 5  17  511383 FEUZ Beat 1987 SUI  1:33.20  +0.37  4.30  45.00
 6  26  561255 CATER Martin 1992 SLO  1:33.27  +0.44  5.12  40.00
 7  9  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR  1:33.31  +0.48  5.58  36.00
 8  2  561216 KLINE Bostjan 1991 SLO  1:33.58  +0.75  8.73  32.00
 9  28  511513 CAVIEZEL Mauro 1988 SUI  1:33.59  +0.76  8.84  29.00
 10  18  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel 1984 CAN  1:33.64  +0.81  9.42  26.00
 11  40  54009 WALDER Christian 1991 AUT  1:33.66  +0.83  9.66  24.00
 12  11  53902 MAYER Matthias 1990 AUT  1:33.74  +0.91  10.59  22.00
 13  53  194167 MUZATON Maxence 1990 FRA  1:33.76  +0.93  10.82  20.00
 14  12  200379 SANDER Andreas 1989 GER  1:33.77  +0.94  10.94  18.00
 15  5  53817 FRANZ Max 1989 AUT  1:33.80  +0.97  11.29  16.00
 16  37  422073 NETELAND Bjoernar 1991 NOR  1:33.81  +0.98  11.40  15.00
 17  3  53980 KRIECHMAYR Vincent 1991 AUT  1:33.88  +1.05  12.22  14.00
 18  38  54005 STRIEDINGER Otmar 1991 AUT  1:33.99  +1.16  13.50  13.00
 19  24  531452 BIESEMEYER Thomas 1989 USA  1:34.04  +1.21  14.08  12.00
 20  48  512042 KRYENBUEHL Urs 1994 SUI  1:34.06  +1.23  14.31  11.00
 21  23  511981 WEBER Ralph 1993 SUI  1:34.07  +1.24  14.43  10.00
 22  14  192746 THEAUX Adrien 1984 FRA  1:34.08  +1.25  14.54  9.00
 23  29  194298 GIEZENDANNER Blaise 1991 FRA  1:34.09  +1.26  14.66  8.00
 24  44  512124 HINTERMANN Niels 1995 SUI  1:34.10  +1.27  14.78  7.00
 25  31  512039 ROULIN Gilles 1994 SUI  1:34.24  +1.41  16.40  6.00
 26  7  291459 PARIS Dominik 1989 ITA  1:34.26  +1.43  16.64  5.00
 27  4  51215 BAUMANN Romed 1986 AUT  1:34.33  +1.50  17.45  4.00
 28  30  561217 KOSI Klemen 1991 SLO  1:34.36  +1.53  17.80  3.00
 29  51  191740 CLAREY Johan 1981 FRA  1:34.40  +1.57  18.27  2.00
 30  41  501987 MONSEN Felix 1994 SWE  1:34.43  +1.60  18.61  1.00
 30  34  422120 SAUGESTAD Stian 1992 NOR  1:34.43  +1.60  18.61  1.00
 32  6  100558 COOK Dustin 1989 CAN  1:34.47  +1.64  19.08
 33  46  934568 RUBIE Brennan 1991 USA  1:34.48  +1.65  19.20
 34  50  6530104 BENNETT Bryce 1992 USA  1:34.49  +1.66  19.31
 35  55  180570 ROMAR Andreas 1989 FIN  1:34.50  +1.67  19.43
 36  1  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:34.54  +1.71  19.89
 37  20  202059 FERSTL Josef 1988 GER  1:34.56  +1.73  20.13
 38  47  6290540 DE VETTORI Matteo 1993 ITA  1:34.69  +1.86  21.64
 38  22  202535 DRESSEN Thomas 1993 GER  1:34.69  +1.86  21.64
 40  35  54076 KOECK Niklas 1992 AUT  1:34.70  +1.87  21.76
 41  32  6290985 BUZZI Emanuele 1994 ITA  1:34.76  +1.93  22.45
 41  25  511139 KUENG Patrick 1984 SUI  1:34.76  +1.93  22.45
 43  36  54209 KRENN Christoph 1994 AUT  1:34.90  +2.07  24.08
 44  33  103762 WERRY Tyler 1991 CAN  1:34.92  +2.09  24.32
 45  8  530874 GANONG Travis 1988 USA  1:34.95  +2.12  24.66
 46  54  191964 POISSON David 1982 FRA  1:34.96  +2.13  24.78
 47  16  530939 WEIBRECHT Andrew 1986 USA  1:35.19  +2.36  27.46
 48  42  6290845 BOSCA Guglielmo 1993 ITA  1:35.27  +2.44  28.39
 49  52  110324 VON APPEN Henrik 1994 CHI  1:35.42  +2.59  30.13
 50  56  380341 ULLRICH Max 1994 CRO  1:36.01  +3.18  37.00
 51  21  102271 HUDEC Jan 1981 CZE  1:37.52  +4.69  54.56
 52  58  390041 LUIK Juhan 1997 EST  1:38.86  +6.03  70.15
Did not start 1st run
 57  170159 VORRE Marcus 1998 DEN
 45  934643 GOLDBERG Jared 1991 USA
 27  194190 ROGER Brice 1990 FRA
Did not finish 1st run
 49  561067 PERKO Rok 1985 SLO
 43  103512 FRISCH Jeffrey 1984 CAN
 39  53981 KROELL Johannes 1991 AUT

 

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About the Author: Sean Higgins

A Lake Tahoe native and University of Vermont graduate, Higgins was a member of the Catamounts' 2012 NCAA title winning squad and earned first team All-American honors in 2013. Prior to coming to Ski Racing Media, he coached U14s for the Squaw Valley Ski Team.