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Jeff Read conquers icy track at famous 'Super Bowl weekend'

Canmore's Jeff Read was speeding at over 125 km/h at the famous "Super Bowl Weekend" of ski racing in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
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Canmore's Jeff Read finishes 18th in super-G at the FIS Ski World Cup in Kitzbühel, Austria on Monday (Jan. 25). GEPA PHOTO

AUSTRIA – Standing next on deck, Canmore’s Jeff Read stared down the imposing "vertical skating rink" that had taken out 10 victims moments earlier.

It was the world cup in Kitzbühel, Austria, where wet conditions last weekend turned the famous ski track into an icy nightmare for Monday's (Jan. 25) super-G event, but Read – and his Canadian teammates – had the last laugh at the bottom of the run.

The downhill skier avoided a hard-crashing fate like 14 of his peers that day and methodically skied to 18th place – a world cup best for the 23-year-old in super-G and his first top 20.

“It’s a big accomplishment and it’s not an easy track or anything – it’s full on,” said Read.

“It knocked a lot of people out. I’m happy, it’s sort of like a legit result and something like that really motivates me moving forward because I’ve done it on one of the hardest tracks.”

The track was so icy and unsafe that a few days prior on Jan. 22, FIS cancelled downhill events for that day.

At the start line is where nerves creep up, said Read, and he knew the field was having big trouble on some slippery turns.

"When you get out on a race course, when you think back on it things are kind of tunnel vision and you're really in the zone, but in some sense, you're trying not to get too panicked ever and really just go with the flow on everything. It's race mode. You try not to have too much going on in your head," he said.

Luckily, sitting pretty in the 43rd start spot, Read was able to watch a television when teammate Jack Crawford flew down the track into 6th place and got an idea of where and what on the course needed to be respected.

Crawford's finish was a career best, and Canadian Brodie Seger finished 21st. It's the first race where all three teammates finished with world cup points this season.

“Today was simple I executed my plan and tried to have no expectations,” said Crawford in a press release. “This is the first time all the boys have been in the top 30 together and it has to be the best day for us as a team.”

Despite knowing where to take it easy, Read thinks it was probably the fastest he’s gone in a super-G race, hitting the radar in the 127 km/h range.

In other words, there was no room for error on the glazed over Kitzbühel track.

“That’s really fast for a super-G,” he said. “I definitely felt it at the bottom and you’re rattling around and things are coming at you fast. It’s definitely really intense and full on.

In a normal year, Read would have been met by around 50,000 enthusiastic fans at the finish, which is why they call Kitzbühel the "Super Bowl weekend" of ski racing.

A year prior, the Canmorite finished 46th in the super-G at the Mecca of ski racing course, second last of the racers who finished.

“I think that’s the difference this year is I knew the track and was able to push it,” Read said. “The little things that come together and get over the hump. There’s still lots of work to do to find the top, but big step being made here.”

Up next, Read and company are in Germany for the world cup from Feb. 3-6. Then, it's the biggest races of the year, the FIS World Ski Championships in Italy from Feb. 8-21, where Read has qualified to compete in the super-G and downhill events.

 


Jordan Small

About the Author: Jordan Small

An award-winning reporter, Jordan Small has covered sports, the arts, and news in the Bow Valley since 2014. Originally from Barrie, Ont., Jordan has lived in Alberta since 2013.
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