Kilde seals Beaver Creek super-G; history for USA’s Ganong
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde finished top on the second day of men's super-G on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour in Beaver Creek, Colorado with Swiss Marco Odermatt and Travis Ganong joining the Norwegian on the podium.
The second day of men’s super-G World Cup action from Beaver Creek, Colorado's fabled Birds of Prey course saw an impressive winning performance from Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who crossed to the finish line with a time of 1.10.26 to edge out silver-winner Marco Odermatt of Switzerland.
The 2013 junior giant slalom world champion, Kilde, earned his seventh World Cup podium in the super-G and giant slalom disciplines on the second day of men’s super-G racing. It was just one day after the Norwegian, recently returned from serious injury, failed to finish the course in the first of the two super-G world cup races from Colorado resort.
“It’s incredible to be back here with the fans again,” said Kilde after beating Odermatt, the winner of yesterday’s first super-G event. “It’s been a long battle with injury and so stepping up today was a just a great feeling.”
While Kilde, the Sochi 2014 Olympian, will be accustomed to the view from up on a super-G podium, it was an historic first for bronze-winner Travis Ganong of the United States, who raced from the number-two spot on the day.
“I was really happy with today,” said Ganong, a native of California, who earned his first World Cup podium finish in the super-G and became the first American to podium at Beaver Creek since Ted Ligety six years ago. “ I was stoked to be up there with the best guys. The speed was more controlled than yesterday, and super-turney, and you had to be very smart and I pushed where I needed to.”
Veteran Norwegian racer Kjetil Jansrud, 36, skiing in what is likely to be his last season on the World Cup tour, crashed hard into the fence on his run causing the race to be interrupted while he was attended to by the medical personnel on hand.
After a lengthy pause, he was able to ski down the remainder of the course to a round of relieved applause from the crowd in Colorado.
Odermatt tops, Thompson shocks on Day One
Yesterday, in the first day of men’s World Cup super-G action at Beaver Creek, Swiss racer Odermatt, winner of the final World Cup super-G event of the 2020-21 season back in March, finished atop of the podium with a time of 8.61 on a day that saw 14 skiers (including Kilde) fail to reach the finish line due to ultra-fast snow conditions and unusually high temperatures.
Austria's Matthias Mayer finished in second with Canada’s Broderick Thompson coming in third in what was the upset of the tour so far. He managed to seal the bronze from start-number of 35 for the first World Cup podium finish of his career.
Germany's Andreas Sander was fourth followed by Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr, winner of the super-G crystal globe last season, in fifth.
The 2021/22 FIS Alpine World Cup tour continues tomorrow (Sunday 4 December) with a men’s (Beaver Creek) and women’s (Lake Louise) doubleheader in the downhill.