Wengen: Defago wins DH, U.S. 2nd & 3rd

Didier Defago hosted a party and invited the Americans.

Defago got the win in the 79th Lauberhorn downhill, delighting the population of Switzerland. But Americans took the other two podium placings with Bode Miller taking second and Marco Sullivan third.

It was just the second career World Cup win for Defago, and his first in downhill. He last won in 2002 in a super G at Val Gardena. But it was the second Swiss win of Wengen weekend following on the heels of Carlo Janka’s combined win Friday and the flag waving Swiss populous was grateful.

Ambrosi Hoffman, another Swiss, finished fourth.  Liechtenstein’s Marco Buechel, who trains with the Swiss and is considered part of the team, was sixth.
Didier Defago hosted a party and invited the Americans.

Defago got the win in the 79th Lauberhorn downhill, delighting the population of Switzerland. But Americans took the other two podium placings with Bode Miller taking second and Marco Sullivan third.

It was just the second career World Cup win for Defago, and his first in downhill. He last won in 2002 in a super G at Val Gardena. But it was the second Swiss win of Wengen weekend following on the heels of Carlo Janka’s combined win Friday and the flag waving Swiss populous was grateful.

Ambrosi Hoffman, another Swiss, finished fourth. Liechtenstein’s Marco Buechel, who trains with the Swiss and is considered part of the team, was sixth.

It was a good day for the Canadians as well with Manuel Osborne-Paradis in fifth and the remarkable Jan Hudec in eighth. He crashed at Wengen a season ago and was making his first start of the season on the same hill. John Kucera was 14th. The Maple Leaf result could have been better. Eric Guay, third in the second training run and the team leader in both overall and downhill points got caught leaning back and was spun around and off course.

Beyond the podium the Americans did not fare well. Three failed to get around the final gate on the world’s longest downhill track. TJ Lanning was unable to crank around the final “S” turn. Steven Nyman blew right into the front edge of the “S” turn gate losing both skis on impact and Erik Fisher managed to get into the gate, but could not make the back side flag and skied off.

Andrew Weibrecht was the only other American to score, finishing 30th for the final point.

Defago said after the race he was most concerned about the finish where he had lost time to other racers in training and in the downhill leg of the combined. But it was on top that he excelled. By the second intermediate timer he had the lead and no one beat his clocking the rest of the way down.

“Yes, at the top I had – for sure – good skis,” he said. “All week I lose every day at the finish. I knew if I could do well there I would be good.”

Miller could hardly be considered a surprise, having won the Lauberhorn DH the last two seasons, but his results haven’t been up to his lofty standards this season. He told the AP’s Graham Dunbar, “I’m probably less concerned with the lack of results this year than a lot of people are. … I’ve been skiing well all season, in all the events except maybe in GS, but I haven’t had any results to speak of.

“I was happy with going out and putting out a hard race.”

Miller has had trouble with an ankle injury he sustained back in December and told Dunbar it only bothers him in the ski boot.
“It’s only in the ski boot that it hurts,” Miller said. “It’s a little bit frustrating on these downhills where there’s a lot of really hard left turns. I just don’t have the power to do what I want to do.”

A guy with plenty of power was Sullivan, bolstered by the presence of a family dominated fan club. He won the first split at the top of the course and but for a couple of small mistakes might have won the day.

“They had a record attendance today (over 30,000) and my family is here,” he said. “They’ve never seen me race in Europe before. There’s lots of hype, I guess, but this morning I went out and free skied by myself. It’s such a beautiful place, I checked out the Eiger and was looking around  – it’s so beautiful here. I tried to make my family proud and it worked.”

His coach might consider having the family shipped in everywhere, because he was sure impressed.

“Marco skied the top like an absolute stud,” said head coach Sasha Rearick. “The first part of the course has some tough terrain and Marco skied aggressive, came out clean and aerodynamic, skied a great race. He lost a little time after that but it was an awesome race for him.”

The coach said Sullivan has been skiing well all season, but that in Wengen he kept getting better in each training run, “It’s great to see,” Rearick said. “That’s something he’s been working on.”

That’s not the only thing he’s been working on. “Things are coming together,” said Sullivan.  “I’ve been skiing well, I’ve had a lot of fast sections in races but for one reason or another haven’t been able to put it all together. Even today I had a couple of big mistakes. On such a long course it’s sort of inevitable. I was really good up top, but then lost time just before the Hundschopf. I had a big mistake. Luckily, I was able to keep focus and charged the bottom. … I learned that about myself today, that not giving up even after that one big mistake can turn out really well.”

He said he also learned the importance of conditioning, noting that his legs felt good during the last seconds of a two minute 30 second course.

The result of 30th from Andrew Weibrecht was just his fifth career World Cup score. “It’s not easy to start so far back,” said Rearick. “The course got rougher in sections. He was truly a champion on top.”

Another champion was Hudec, returning to the scene of his most dramatic crash after a full year on the comeback trail. “It’s an amazing start for me,” Hudec said. “I’m really thrilled. It’s a tough place to come back.”

Osborne-Paradis said he was happier for teammate Hudec than for his own result. “I wasn’t that good today, making some crucial errors. I just made it down. I don’t think anyone was really thrilled. Defago was just the best of a mediocre bunch.”

The Austrians certainly would agree. Downhill standings leader Michael Walchhofer was 26th, tied with Hermann Maier. Georg Streitberger was the top Austrian in 18th with Christoph Gruber 19th and Romed Baumann 20th. It was the worst performance for an Austrian men’s DH team in 15 years.

That Austrian low point only heighten the Swiss celebration. The Swiss had not won their own classic since Bruno Kernen won in 2003. Didier Cuche, tenth on the day, had been second in each of the last two editions of the race. Even more important, in a Red Sox/Yankees kind of way, the Swiss had five skiers ahead of Streitberger.

The SCOOP

Equipment
Men’s Downhill, Wengen, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2009
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Defago, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
2 Miller, Head/Head/Tyrolia
3 Sullivan, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
4 Hoffmann, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
5 Osborne-Paradis, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
6 Buechel, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
7 Innerhofer, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
8 Hudec, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
9 Fill, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia

Men’s Downhill, Wengen Switzerland Jan 17, 2009. … It is the 79th running of the Lauberhorn DH. … It is the 19th race of the men’s 38 race 2009 World Cup schedule. … The fifth of nine scheduled downhills. … It is the 84th World Cup race held at least on part at Wengen. … And the 36th Cup downhill.

It is the second career World Cup win for Didier Defago. … His first in DH. … His previous win was in SG at Val Gardena Dec. 20, 2002. … It was the second Swiss win in two days after Carlo Janka won the combined yesterday. … It was the first Swiss DH win at Wengen since Bruno Kernen Jan. 18, 2003. … Defago’s previous best at Wengen had been a third in combined in 2005.

It is the 67th career World Cup podium for Bode Miller. … His third of the season without a win. … It is his seventh career Cup podium at Wengen and fourth in DH. … He won the DH in both 2007 and 2008 and was third in 2005. … He also has been second in two combineds, 2002 and 2003 and third once, 2008.

It is the third career World Cup podium for Marco Sullivan, all in DH. … His last was a win at Chamonix last season the other a second in November 2007 at Lake Louise. … It is his fourth top five result of the seson. … He was seventh in DH at Wengen last season.

It is the ninth career World Cup top five for Manuel Osborne-Paradis. … His second of the season. … He was third at Wengen in 2008. … It is the sixth time Jan Hudec has finished a World Cup race among the top eight. … He was making his first start of the season having been in recovery mode from a crash at Wengen last season. … It marks his career best placing at Wengen. … It is the 32nd time John Kucera has finished a Cup race among the top 15. … The fourth time this season. … It is his fourth best result of the season and the best in DH at Wengen of his career. … It is the fifth career scoring result for Andrew Weibrecht. … His third of the season.

No change at the top of the World Cup overall standings. … Benjamin Raich (did not race) holds the lead 593-536 over Jean-Baptiste Grange (did not race). … Aksel Svindal (15th in race) holds third at 518. Miller is the top North American overall, climbing to ninth place with 385. … Michael Walchhofer (26th in race) holds the lead of the DH standings 230-225 over Miller. … Klaus Kroell (50th in race) is third at 257. … Defago climbs to fourth at 198.

Did not start 1st run: PAQUIN Pierre (FRA), GISIN Marc (SUI), ALSTER Christoph (AUT)

Did not finish 1st run: HOFER Elmar (ITA), NYMAN Steven (USA), LANNING T.J. (USA), GUAY Erik (CAN), MACARTNEY Scott (USA)

Disqualified 1st run: GLEBOV Alek (SLO), FISHER Erik (USA)