Maier wins his 54th in Lake Louise SG

Break out that old record book. Hermann Maier, the greatest super G skier of all time, claimed his 54th career win, and 24th super G win, at Lake Louise, Sunday. The latter extends his own record, the former leaves him one win shy of Vreni Schneider for third on the all-time win list, second among men behind only Ingemar Stenmark.

The 35-year-old Maier (he turns 36 next Sunday) nearly skipped the races in North America as he is still bothered by a hairline fracture in his back apparently from injuries sustained in a vicious 2001 motorcycle accident.

To say he was not among the favorites is an understatement. Not even he thought he could win.

Break out that old record book. Hermann Maier, the greatest super G skier of all time, claimed his 54th career win, and 24th super G win, at Lake Louise, Sunday. The latter extends his own record, the former leaves him one win shy of Vreni Schneider for third on the all-time win list, second among men behind only Ingemar Stenmark.

The 35-year-old Maier (he turns 36 next Sunday) nearly skipped the races in North America as he is still bothered by a hairline fracture in his back apparently from injuries sustained in a vicious 2001 motorcycle accident.

To say he was not among the favorites is an understatement. Not even he thought he could win.

“It’s a special victory,” he told the Canadian press. “I didn’t expect to win.”

He had not won a race since January of 2006 when he claimed the Kitzbuehel super G and the Garmisch downhill. But his super G skills have never been in question. His 24 super G wins is more than double those of any other male skier. Pirmin Zurbriggen closed his career with 10.

At Lake Louise he really had no challengers. Canadian John Kucera came the closest, .59 of a second back. Didier Cuche, the third place finisher was .68 behind.

Now, Maier says, he can kick back, because his goal this season was to win one race. Mission accomplished.

Kucera, 24, says Maier was his boyhood hero and found it weird to be standing beside him on a World Cup podium. “To come back home and get back on the podium again, it’s a really good feeling,” said Kucera, the 2006 Bombardier Lake Louise Super G champion. “I really had to charge it. Today I felt good.  I wasn’t sure when I crossed the line what my time was going to be but felt really good when I saw the board,” Kucera added.

American Bode Miller exited the course about half way down when he ripped a binding out of his ski.  Marco Sullivan stayed in his bindings and ripped up the course, finishing in a fifth place tie with Swiss Didier Defago. Canadian Erik Guay finished seventh.

“I skied pretty well – not flawlessly, but I had the intensity,” says Sullivan. “I was a little disappointed with yesterday’s race, so I wanted to at least leave here with something, so I charged it and it worked out pretty good,” he says.

Sullivan’s coach Sasha Rearick credited a lot of work in GS helping Sullivan to the high placing.

“Sullivan did a lot of giant slalom this summer – probably four times the amount he normally does – which has helped him to make better transitions in his turns and that work showed today,” Rearick says. “Sully did a great job. He had awesome skiing and great execution from top to bottom.”

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee
Equipment
Men’s Super G, Lake Louise, Nov. 30, 2008

1 Maier, Head/Head/Head
2 Kucera, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
4 Walchhofer, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Sullivan, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
5 Defago, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
7 Guay, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 Albrecht, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 Svindal, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Gruenenfelder, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic

Men’s Super G, Lake Louise, Alberta, Nov. 30, 2008. … It is the fourth race of the men’s 38 race 2008-09 World Cup schedule. … It is the first of six scheduled super G’s. … It is the 67th Cup race at Lake Louise. … The 24th super G. … the tenth men’s super G at the site.

It is the 54th career win for Herman Maier. … He is fourth on the all time win list behind Vreni Schneider’s 55. … He number two all time among men behind Ingemar Stenmark’s 86. … It is his 24th career SG win, adding to an all-time mark he already held. … Katja Seizinger is next on the super G list with 16, Carole Merle has 12 and Pirmin Zurbriggen 10. … It is Maier’s first victory since he won a DH at Garmisch Jan. 28, 2006. … his first SG win since Kitzbuehel Jan. 20, 2006. … It is the second Austria win of the season, after Kathrin Zettel’s GS win at Soelden. … Maier also won a World Championship SG at Beaver Creek in 1999 and an Olympic SG at Nagano in 1998.

It is the third career World Cup podium – all in SG – for John Kucera and his second at Lake Louise having won Nov. 26, 2006.

It is the 44th career World Cup podium for Didier Cuche. … His 17th in SG. … It is his third SG podium at Lake Louise.

Fifth is the fourth best career World Cup result for Marco Sullivan. … He has one better result at Lake Louise having placed second in DH last season Nov. 24. … Seventh marks the 21st best result of Erik Guay’s career. … It is his fifth best result at Lake Louise, the best a second in DH Nov. 29, 2003. … For Robbie Dixon, 19th is the fourth best career placing. … He now has seven career scoring results. … Manuel Osborne-Paradis matches his fourth best career SG result in 27th.

Daniel Albrecht maintains the lead in the World Cup overall standings 156-140 over Didier Cuche. … Jean-Baptiste Grange (did not race) holds third at 122 and Bode Miller (DNF) fourth at 121. … Maier leads the SG standings 100-80 over Kucera.

 Did not start 1st run: KREUZER Ralf (SUI), BRAUER Jono (AUS)

Did not finish 1st run: MICKEL Finlay (GBR), MACARTNEY Scott (USA), PERKO Rok (SLO), OLSSON Hans (SWE), MILLER Bode (USA), BYDLINSKI Maciej (POL), STREITBERGER Georg (AUT)

Disqualified 1st run: LANNING T.J. (USA), MARSAGLIA Matteo (ITA)