Cameron Alexander raced to a third-place downhill finish in Kvitfjell, Norway on Saturday morning, capturing the third World Cup medal of his career.
Taking on a course where he has enjoyed significant previous success, the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alum briefly took over the leader’s chair after the first five. Only two men managed to overtake him.
Niels Hintermann of Switzerland, who shared the Kvitfjell podium with Alexander in 2022, won it all in a time of one minute and 44.62 seconds. Austrian star Vincent Kriechmayr had to settle for silver (1.44.70), just ahead of the top Canadian (1:44.81).
“It feels good to be back on the podium here; this place has been very good to me and our team as a whole, so I hope we keep coming back every year from now on,” Alexander said in a press release. "The track was amazing. They did great prep from the two days before when it snowed a bunch, so it was a very good race all around.”
Jeffrey Read acquitted himself well with a sixth-place effort (1:45.36), beating overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt by one one-hundredth of a second. WMSC products Jack Crawford and Brodie Seger also earned points in 23rd and 29th respectively. Kyle Alexander was 60th.
After Feb. 17, Alexander sits ninth in FIS downhill rankings while Crawford is 13th. Both have qualified for the season finale.
Super-G results
On Sunday, Read ascended to his first World Cup podium.
The Canmore, Alta. native clinched silver (1:09.40) right behind the victorious Kriechmayr (1:09.23). Dominik Paris grabbed bronze for Italy (1:09.42), and Alexander just missed the podium in fifth (1:09.44).
“The stars aligned. It’s a track that I love and have some speed on. The skiing was just right today, and I ended up with a good clean run," said Read in a release. "Good enough for second, not quite enough speed to catch Kriechmayr in first, but it was a really tight race, and I’m really stoked to end up on the podium."
Added Alexander: “I’m very happy with how I skied, and I was able to execute my plan for the most part all the way down. It's tough to be so close to the podium, but that’s just racing sometimes, and I can look back on today and be proud of my result.
“I’m very happy for Jeff; the potential to do it has been there for a while for him, so to see him put it together is awesome. It just goes to show how strong a group we have with him being the fourth member of our team to secure a World Cup podium.”
Crawford skied to 12th, and will join Read and Alexander in the upcoming super-G finals from March 14 to 17 in Saalbach, Austria.
