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Whistler skiers lead the way in downhill

Osborne-Paradis on the podium as storms hit European World Cup races
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Future's So Bright Former WMSC skier Manuel Osborne-Paradis (right) blinks as photographers snap podium shots in Italy this weekend. It was the forth DH podium of Osborne-Paradis' career, and the third for the Canadians this season. Photo by Alpine Canada, pentaphoto

The FIS Alpine World Cup squeezed in several events before the Christmas break with a mix of weather and conditions as Europe continued to be hit by wave after wave of snowstorms. Events were delayed, moved and cancelled, as skiers wrestled with everything from snow to wind to low visibility. Luckily those seem to be the conditions where Canadian skiers thrive.

Through it all, Canada picked up its third medal of the season. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, an alumnus of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, earned a bronze medal in the downhill at Val Gardena/Groeden, Italy Saturday to cap a successful day and week at the Italian resort.

Osborne-Paradis completed a shortened, technical Saslong course in one minute, 51.11 seconds, just 0.16 back of American Bode Miller. Michael Walchhofer of Austria picked up the gold medal.

It was Osborne-Paradis’s fourth career medal in three seasons, or 58 World Cup starts — all of them in downhill so far.

“This was big,” he said. “It was good for me. I have been so close to being on the podium and just haven’t been able to do it. To finally get on that step was a big achievement for me.”

Erik Guay was fifth at Val Gardena, .22 seconds behind Osborne-Paradis. Whistler’s Robbie Dixon had his best ever World Cup downhill result, finishing 13 th

John Kucera also cracked the top-30 in that race, placing 22 nd .

Osborne-Paradis had a quiet week in training, finishing 22 nd and 37 th on the downhill, but kicked things into high gear Friday for the first day of racing, a super G. He finished 13 th in that event, then attacked the downhill from midway through the pack.

“I just pulled it together today. Today is what counts,” he said following his bronze medal. “In races to come I hope to be better in the training because there is no reason why I shouldn’t, and yes, it does make it harder for me on race day (because of start position).”

It was Canada’s third medal this season, coming after medals by Kucera and Guay. The women’s team, stronger last season, has yet to win any hardware.

While Osborne-Paradis won the only podium of the weekend, other Canadians had solid days.

In Friday’s opening super G, Guay was seventh, just 0.33 seconds back of third place. Osborne-Paradis was 13 th , Dixon 22 nd and Kucera 25 th . On the strength of his podium and consistent results, Kucera is now ranked fourth in the super G, and 17 th overall on the World Cup circuit. Only Guay ranks higher, 13 th overall, with a fifth place rank in downhill and eighth place rank in super G.

Always one to risk everything for the podium, Guay was okay with seventh place.

“Today was a little bit tricky,” he said. “There was a lot of wind and that was making things difficult. I am confident right now and happy with my skiing.”

While the speed team was in Val Gardena, the men’s technical team was a resort over, at Alta Badia. Sunday’s giant slalom was tough, with conditions deteriorating towards the end of the day, while Monday’s slalom was held to replace an early event in France that was delayed because of snow.

In the GS, Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland took the gold, followed by Ivica Kostelic of Croatia and Hannes Reichelt of Austria.

With Francois Bourque on the sidelines with a knee injury, Canada’s GS team was decimated. Jean-Philippe Roy managed to complete both runs, one of only 26 skiers to do so, to finish 26 th overall.

Brydon, Janyk leads women’s team in St. Moritz

Whistler’s Britt Janyk and Fernie’s Emily Brydon led the way for the women’s speed team at St. Moritz, Switzerland with a couple of top-10 results.

Friday’s race was a super combined event, with super G and slalom runs. Anja Paerson of Sweden proved once again that she is probably one of the strongest all-around skiers on the tour by winning by more than a second. Nicole Hosp of Austria was second, and Fabienne Suter of Switzerland third.

The top Canadian was Fernie’s Emily Brydon, who placed ninth, just 0.42 seconds back of the bronze medal. Brydon was second in the SG run, and then followed up with a respectable 15 th in slalom.

“My performance in the super G was really good today, but I don’t do a whole lot of slalom training,” she said. “If I am going to move up in the super combined, that’s something I will have to focus on.

“Being back in St. Moritz is great. I am very comfortable here, I like the snow and there’s no stress. I am really focused on my skiing and just getting the best result that I can tomorrow.”

Also of note, rookie Larisa Yurkiw placed 25 th , her best World Cup result to date as well as her second World Cup top-30 in her first season on the tour.

In the super G, Janyk picked up her first top-10 result this season with an eighth place finish. She was just 0.22 back of the podium. Organizers delayed the race because of the weather, then were forced to move down the start to shorten the course.

“After Lake Louise I was definitely hungry for the races this weekend,” said Janyk, who placed 12 th in SG and 15 th in downhill at the opening speed events. “I’m only eight hundredths from fourth today, which is a bit frustrating but I’m very happy with a solid top-10 and knowing that I am that close.”

Lara Gut of Switzerland, just 17, took advantage of the first start position to win the race. Fabienne Suter was second, while Italy’s Nadia Fanchini was third. None of the other Canadians cracked the top-30, and top racers Emily Brydon, Kelly VanderBeek and Larisa Yurkiw were among the 18 racers that did not finish the course in the difficult conditions. Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. was also in that group, but held on to her overall lead on the World Cup tour.

The weather worsened overnight, and organizers were forced to cancel the downhill on Sunday — the second downhill cancelled this season after one of two DH races was cancelled at Lake Louise.