Canada's Kucera wins SuperG

LAKE LOUISE (AP)( 26/11/2006 23:30 ) - John Kucera of Canada won the season-opening super giant slalom Sunday in bitter cold, giving him his first top-10 finish in a World Cup race.
 
Kucera, the first skier out of the start hut, was timed in 1 minute, 29.70 seconds and was followed by Austria's Mario Scheiber in 1:29.76 and Sweden's Patrik Jaerbyn in 1:29.98. Austria's Hermann Maier, who has won four super-G races at Lake Louise, was fourth.
 
"I'm just beside myself," Kucera said. "I don't think it has sunk in yet." This was Canada's second podium finish in two days, with Manuel Osborne-Paradis the runner-up in Saturday's downhill.
 
Kucera skied an aggressive line on the upper middle portion of the 1?-mile run. Temperatures plunged to minus 24 Celsius (minus 11 F), but snow fell throughout the race and the course did not get faster for the skiers that followed.
 
Kucera dedicated his victory to Jason Lapierre, his friend who died at 34 this summer after being hit by a car while biking. "I did it for him," Kucera said. "I wish he was here." Kucera became the first Canadian man to win a World Cup race at Lake Louise in the 11 downhills and seven super giant slaloms held at the course.

The only other Canadian man to win at home was Rob Boyd, who captured a 1989 downhill in Whistler, British Columbia. The women arrive at Lake Louise this week for two downhills and a super-G race starting Friday.

Schild wins 2nd straight slalom for another Austrian 1-2

ASPEN, Colo. (AP)( 26/11/2006 23:00 ) _ Olympic bronze medalist Marlies Schild won her second straight World Cup slalom race of the season Sunday, leading Austria to another 1-2 finish with Nicole Hosp again taking second. Like in the previous slalom earlier this month in Finland, Schild posted the fastest times in both the morning and afternoon runs, winning with an aggregate time of 1 minute, 43.18 seconds.
 
Amazingly, the 25-year-old's margin of victory was identical, a whopping .80 ahead of Hosp.
 
It marked Schild's ninth career World Cup win, her eighth in slalom. Sweden's Therese Borssen finished third in 1:44.25. In Finland, Austria swept the entire podium, with Kathrin Zettel placing third. This time, Zettel, who posted her maiden World Cup win in Saturday's giant slalom, finished fifth, 1.57 off the pace.
 
Anja Paerson, sixth after the opening run, climbed into fourth after the final leg, finishing 1.12 behind.
 
The World Cup giant slalom champion and Olympic slalom gold medalist, Paerson has been struggling since coming off surgery on her left knee after last season's World Cup finals and had disappointing results in the two previous World Cup races. She missed a gate in Saturday's giant slalom and placed 12th in the Levi, Finland, slalom. Lindsey Kildow, who is known as a speed specialist but has been showing marked improvement in slalom, was the top American, finishing 16th, four seconds off.
 
Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso was 22nd, 6.05 behind. Resi Stiegler, 13th after the opening leg, missed a gate on her second run, hiked back up to go through the gate and finished more than seven seconds behind.

Zettel wins GS for first career World Cup triumph

ASPEN (AP) ( 25/11/2006 22:39 ) - Kathrin Zettel of Austria got her first career World Cup victory, winning a women's giant slalom race on Saturday. Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso, who underwent surgery in July for a chronic hip problem, was seventh, 3.12 off the pace.

Zettel, who had been on the World Cup podium eight times previously, was second-fastest in the morning's opening leg but took the victory after another stellar run on the Lower Ruthies Run, finishing with a combined time of 2 minutes, 16.10 seconds.
 
Zettel was third in the slalom at Levi, Finland, earlier this month, the only other women's race this season. "I'm speechless. I've been the eternal runner-up. I was sure I was going to finish second again," said Zettel, a three-time runner-up in her career. "I was so nervous. I knew I was in a good position to win but when I saw how Tanja was racing in this morning's leg I also thought there's no way I can beat her."
 
Olympic silver medalist Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, who led after the opening run, took second place in 2:16.38. The result helped make up for a disappointing home race earlier this month, where she finished a distant 14th.

Poutiainen, the last racer of the afternoon, prevented an Austrian sweep with Michaela Kirchgasser placing third and Nicole Hosp fourth.

"I had good skiing last year but not quite on the level of first, second and third," Poutiainen said. "I was always fifth, sixth and seventh. There was nothing really wrong but for sure it was not like the season before. I'm really happy about the start here." 

Buechel won in Lake Louise

LAKE LOUISE ( 25/11/2006 21:15 ) - Representing of Liechtenstein Marco Buechel won the first 2006-2007 Wc Downhil on the Lake Louise track. Buechel, 35, caugth his third WC triumph, the second in Downhill after Val Gardena 2006.

Surprising Canadian Manuel Osborne Paradis was the runner up, defetaed for only 5 hundrettes. Osborne, 22, got his career high on the home slope, he placed 12th the last year in Val d'Isere.

Italian Peter Fill placed third as in WC finals Downhill in Are the last year. Disappoiting race for Austria, Hans Grugger was the best, fourth ahead Didier Cuche of Switzerland and Hermann Maier.

Due to a big mistake in last side of the race, former World Champion Michael Walchhofer finished 9th, he could win the race without it.
 

FIS officials worried about "critical" lack of snow in Europe

ASPEN, Colorado (AP) ( 27/11/2006 09:31 )_ ski officials are scrambling to reschedule World Cup races canceled due to warm weather and a lack of snow in Europe, and have called the situation "critical." The season-opening races in October on the glacier in Soelden, Austria, were wiped out because of heavy rain, while the women's events set for St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 9-10 were canceled due to lack of snow and warm temperatures. The men's races in Val d'Isere, France, on the same weekend are in danger.
 
"It's very critical, not only for racing, but it will have a big impact on public skiing," said Norway's Atle Skaardal, director of the women's World Cup. "We all have to hope for colder temperatures and snow fall in Europe very fast or it will be a big crisis for us if we have to continue to cancel our races in December." The women also have races in Val d'Isere, but in the second week of December. Those, too, could be in jeopardy if the weather doesn't cooperate.
 
"I talked to a lot of people in Val d'Isere to get a lot of opinions," Skaardal said. "There is only a very small chance they can make it work but they still think it's possible.
 
"Some spots are almost green, others are close to ready. The ladies is 60 percent finished. The men need a lot more work." The men's and women's fields are currently on the North American swing of the World Cup tour. Because of the good snow on this side of the Atlantic, FIS officials are working with organizers in Beaver Creek and Aspen, Colorado _ which are already set up for races _ in hopes of staging some of the scrapped events at one of the two resorts. He said the resorts were trying to work out details such as accommodation, sponsorship and television broadcasting, but that both Beaver Creek and Aspen would prefer to take over at least two races to make it financially feasible.
 
A decision is expected Wednesday, after it is decided whether the men's Val d'Isere races will go ahead or not.