The Canadian Alpine ski team has started a new trend in off-season training: the less time on snow, the better the results in Lake Louise.
Banff’s Jan Hudec started the trend three seasons ago when he only managed two weeks on snow before the start of the season and placed fourth at The Lake.
On Saturday (Nov. 30), Erik Guay was the top Canadian with an eighth-place finish in the men’s downhill world cup despite only training for a month on-snow. The top speed racer in the country underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in July and has only been able to train for 15 days on snow.
“It’s an absolutely respectable start to the season, all things considered. A month ago I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to race here,” said Guay.
Guay battled the bumpy course through flat light to finish in the top 10, which practically guarantees his spot at the Sochi Olympics. Canadian alpine racers need two top 12 results to qualify for the Olympics and the Canadian Olympic Committee must approve all selections by January. Italian Dominik Paris won the men’s race with a time of 1:49.90. Austrian Klaus Kroell was second, only three one hundredths of a second behind, while Adrien Theaux of France was third.
Guay said the qualifier “wasn’t a big deal” but he was happy to book the Sochi trip early. He has a string of top 10 finishes at Lake Louise dating back to 2003, where he won silver – one of his 19 world cup podiums. He only needs one more top three finish to break Steve Podborski’s all-time Canadian record.
“I was confident I was going to get another top 12 this season, but it’s great to get it out of the way,” Guay said.
Injuries are old hat for the 32-year-old skier, but he felt strong through the week, winning Wednesday’s training run. That changed his expectations, as he knew he was capable of skiing fast, but had to ski smart to stay healthy.
“Nothing’s fallen off the car today. The knee held up, the back held up,” Guay said. “I feel relaxed. There is not much more I could have done to prepare for the race.”
Grey skies and poor visibility slowed Hudec, who wanted a top-10 result in Lake Louise, but finished 22nd. Despite a favourable late starting bib which he thought would allow him to ski in good conditions, Hudec said the weather hampered his speed.
“What happened on my race? Outdoor sport,” Hudec said.
Miraculously, he was relatively pain-free coming into the race. Despite a nasty bout of frostbite he endured while training at Nakiska last week, Hudec said his chronically rickety body held up strong.
“I thought I skied well and I attacked the course. There were some that skied in the dark that were faster than me.”
The rest of the Canadians finished out of the top 30. Young speed racer Conrad Pridy started in 57th position and ended in 32nd spot.
“Everything I wanted to do I did, and I felt pretty fast the whole way. I’m confident in my skiing,” Pridy said
Jeffrey Frisch made a few mistakes in the flats and finished 35th, while Invermere’s Ben Thomsen was 44th. Morgan Pridy was 45th.
