Photo: Canadian Press
Kvitjel, Norway – Canadian Jeffrey Reid finished second in the men's super-G on Sunday to secure the first FIS Alpine World Cup podium of his career.
Reid, of Canmore, Alta., finished the race in 1 minute, 9.4 seconds to put him in the leader's seat until Austria's Vincent Krechmeier beat his time.
“The stars aligned, it's a track I like and I've got some speed on it, and the skiing was decent today. I ended up with a good clean run, good enough for second, and it wasn't enough speed to catch up,” Reid said. “Kriechmeier was in first place, but it was a very close race, and I'm very excited to get on the podium.”
Kriechmeier beat Reid by 0.17 seconds and closed the gap in the discipline standings over leader Marko Odermatt to 81 points, with the Austrian's only home race in the World Cup Finals in Saalbach on 22 March.
Odermatt would have won the title on Sunday by finishing first or second, but the Swiss star shared third place with Italian racer Dominique Paris, trailing Krechmeier by 0.19 seconds.
Reed's strong showing continued a strong weekend for Canadian men's ski racing, after Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver, British Columbia, finished third in the downhill on Saturday.
“This track is definitely one of our best, if not certainly our best,” Reed said after the race. “I think there's something about the snow, being a bit like home, and the terrain that we feel really comfortable in, and we have a lot of confidence, so it kind of takes a toll every time we're out here, and it's nice to finally be able to take advantage of that for myself.” .
Alexander scored another positive result for himself at Kvitfjell, a place where he has reached the podium twice before. His time of 1:09.44 moved him just 0.02 seconds away from a three-way tie for third place.
“I'm very happy with the way I skied today, and I was able to execute my plan for the most part all the way,” Alexander said. “It's hard to be so close to the podium, but it's just racing sometimes, and I can look back today and be proud.” “With my result.”
With a podium finish and huge success on the penultimate weekend of the 2023-24 World Cup schedule, Reid has risen to seventh in the discipline's standings, cracking the top 25 and qualifying for the final race of the season in Saalbach, Austria.
Alexander, who finished 20th in the Super-G after Sunday's race, will also compete in the World Cup finals and will be joined by fellow Torontonian Jack Crawford, 12th, who was one of 10 skiers to skate out of the gates in Sunday's Super-G.
Aside from two Canadians in the top five in the event, Riley Seager (North Vancouver) finished 42nd, just ahead of Kyle Alexander (North Vancouver) who finished 43rd. Brody Seager (North Vancouver) rounded out the Canadian finishes in 47th .
Odermatt extended his lead in the overall standings to 918 points from Cyprian Sarrazin. The Frenchman missed this weekend's races due to a calf injury.
Odermatt was on the podium in 14 of 15 Super-G races and won the discipline title last season. He needs to finish 13th or better in the final race to win the globe again.
Kriechmeier didn't fancy his chances of getting past Odermatt next month.
“It's just a theoretical opportunity. He's not going to let that be taken away from him, with his class,” said Kriechmeier, who was the Super-G World Cup champion in the 2020-21 season.
Kriechmeier led far into the turn and lost time midway through but gained a decisive advantage at the bottom of the turn.
“There I raced pretty much at the limit,” the Austrian said. “I didn't think I'd be driving after that mistake.”
It was the ninth Super-G World Cup win for Kriechmeier, who also has nine victories on the slopes. Three years ago, he won gold in both disciplines at the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Kriechmeier finished second On Saturday we went down the same slopeWhich was won by Niels Hintermann. The Swiss rider finished 1.66 seconds off the lead in 48th place and outside the World Cup points on Sunday.
Italian skier Pietro Zazzi, who started late with number 50, impressed with his sixth-place finish, sharing his position with teammate Guglielmo Busca.
The Men's World Cup heads to the United States next for two series of technical races – in Palisades-Tahoe, California next weekend, and Aspen, Colorado from March 1-3.
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