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Kucera leads Canadian speed team to its third medal

Osborne-Paradis, Brydon in top 10

By Andrew Mitchell

Calgary’s John Kucera walked up the steps to his second World Cup podium this past weekend at Val Gardena, Italy, claiming his second medal of the season — also the fifth for the national team, and third for the men’s speed team.

Kucera followed up his gold medal performance in the Lake Louise super G with a bronze in the same event at Val Gardena.

Bode Miller of the U.S. placed first with a very aggressive run, while Christoph Gruber of Austria was second. Kucera finished just 0.09 seconds back of Gruber, charging hard out of the gate before settling in for a smooth run on the icy but otherwise easy course.

With two medals, Kucera continues to sit on top of the super G rankings and wears the red leader’s bib. He is ranked fifth in overall World Cup points.

Somewhat of an unknown before the start of the season, Kucera is determined not to let this season get away.

“I know I worked really hard this summer in the gym and in the on-snow summer and fall training,” he said. “I started to focus on the small things and I see good results coming off that hard work.

“I didn’t want to be a one-race wonder and it feels good to get that second good result in there and show I can perform well — not only in Lake Louise, but in any other venue across the world.”

Teammate Francois Bourque placed 10 th , just 0.38 seconds back of Kucera in one of the tightest races yet this season. Erik Guay — Canada’s top speed racer for the past few years — had another consistent run to place 13 th . As a result three Canadian racers earned points for finishing in the top-30.

In Saturday’s downhill, Vancouver’s Manuel Osborne-Paradis — an alumnus of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club — just missed his second podium of the season. He finished fifth, just three hundredths of a second back of the bronze medal.

“I am really happy,” he said. “This is a tough course and you really need to know the terrain to be fast. I could have had a better run and I know the areas I need to improve.

“After the inspection today I was thrilled, I really wanted to ski it. I had a smile on my face — I love that course. It’s the downhill of all downhills.”

Steve Nyman of the U.S. picked up the gold medal, followed by Didier Cuche of Switzerland who rallied from an early mistake to get onto the podium. Third went to Fritz Strobl of Austria.

Other Canadians in the top-30 and earning points were Erik Guay in 21 st and Francois Bourque in 27 th .

From Val Gardena the Canadian team traveled immediately to Alta Badia for a GS, following an accelerated schedule made necessary due to all the World Cup cancellations in the Alps. On Sunday, Kucera placed fifth in the giant slalom, posting the second-best performance in the second run of the day. Thomas Grandi placed 15 th and Francois Bourque 18 th to give Canada three athletes in the top-20 on a course that was warm at the start and deteriorated over the course of the day.

Kalle Palander of Finland took the gold, Bode Miller of the U.S. the silver, and Didier Defago of Switzerland the bronze.

The men’s technical team also raced this week, with Thomas Grandi leading the way in 14 th place at Alta Badia. Whistler’s Mike Janyk, the series leader, was forced to give up his leaders’ jersey after straddling a gate at the top of the course on his second run. Janyk is now ranked second to Sweden’s Markus Larrson, who won the day’s race.

Although the women’s speed team didn’t win any medals, results were solid and consistent at Reiteralm, Austria.

Fernie’s Emily Brydon led the way, but the other girls were not that far behind.

In the opening super combined race, a combination of super G and slalom times, Brydon placed ninth.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I’m happy with finishing ninth today because there are a lot of really good slalom skiers out there.

“It was an easier course, definitely user-friendly, but it was pretty quick and you had to be on it from top to bottom.”

Four other Canadians finished in the top-30, with Brigitte Acton 13 th . Whistler’s Britt Janyk was 11 th after the super G, but had some trouble in the slalom to place 25 th . Shona Rubens of Canmore placed 26 th .

It was an all-Austrian podium with Marlies Schild on top, Michaela Kirchgasser on the next step and Kathrin Zettel one step down from there.

The next event on the schedule was the women’s super-G. Once again Brydon was the top Canadian racer, placing 10 th .

“It was a very tough race and there weren’t too many who came in after me that were able to beat my time,” said Brydon of the course. Start times were everything, as the course deteriorated as the day grew warmer.

Genevieve Simard of Val Morin Quebec placed 17 th , while Britt Janyk finished 24 th — now finishing all five of her races with the women’s speed team in the top-30.

Austrians dominated for a second day, taking seven of the top-eight spots. Renate Goetschl was first, Nicole Hosp second and Martina Schild third.

 

Stefan Guay out for season

Mont Tremblant’s Stefan Guay took a sudden early exit from his first full season on the World Cup tour last week after injuring his right knee at Val Gardena, Italy while preparing for last weekend’s super G race. It appears that Guay — younger brother of national team star Erik Guay — injured his anterior cruciate ligament.

After flying to Bolzano, Italy for his initial assessment, Guay was sent back to Canada where he received surgery. The next few months will be spent healing and rehabilitating, and he will be reassessed before he can start racing again.

“We are confident that with his determination and intensity, Stefan will be back in top shape next season to compete on the World Cup tour,” said Max Garner, Alpine Canada’s chief of athletics. “Our medical team will make every necessary step to ensure his knee is fully rehabilitated.”

Guay has been with the national team since 2004, recently winning a pair of downhill gold medals at the Northwest Mutual Funds Nor Am races at Lake Louise. He also placed 25 th in the Lake Louise Winterstart super G races in late November.

Last year Guay won a gold medal in the giant slalom and bronze in downhill at the Alpine Skiing Junior Championships held at Mont Ste-Anne, Quebec.