On one of the narrowest
downhill courses on the World Cup tour, with corners so treacherous that some
of the top racers crashed in the super combined race the day before, Whistler
Mountain Ski Club alumuni Manuel Osborne-Paradis picked up his first medal of
the season, and the third medal of his career. It was also the seventh medal
for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, and more proof that the Canadian team is on the
right track to be on the podium in 2010.
Osborne-Paradis placed third
behind American Bode Miller, who is pulling out of his slump with some daring
skiing, and Didier Cuche of Switzerland. John Kucera also cracked the top-30
for Canada, placing 19
th
overall.
“It feels good to get a
podium this season and contribute to the team’s success,” said Osborne-Paradis.
“It also means a lot to me to be on the podium at Wengen, on a course that is
considered one of the most difficult.
“It was surprisingly a lot easier
than I expected today. We had a week off before the race and my legs definitely
weren’t hurting as bad as they normally do when I got to the bottom. Also, with
experience you learn that your legs hurt really badly in the middle but by the
end of the race they won’t hurt that much worse.”
In the super combined, none
of the Canadians managed to finish both runs.
ean-Baptiste Grange of
France was the top skier in that event, followed by Switzerland’s Daniel
Albrecht and Bode Miller.
The women raced the technical
events at Maribor, Slovenia.
In the opening giant slalom,
Whistler’s Britt Janyk cracked the top-30 with a 29
th
place finish,
her best GS result since the 2003-2004 season. Marie-Pier Prefrontaine, Emilie
Desforges, Shona Rubens and Emily Brydon did not qualify for a second run.
The win went to Elisabeth
Goergl of Austria, followed by Manuela Moelgg and Denise Karbon of Italy.
In the slalom, Shona Rubens
did not finish her first run, while Anna Goodman was disqualified.
The win went to Nicole Hosp
of Austria, followed by Veronika Zuzulova of Slovakia, and Marlies Schild of
Austria.
