Are: Canada's Guay firing on all cylinders

ARE, Sweden — It may be his first time in Are, but Erik Guay is already feeling right at home.
ARE, Sweden — It may be his first time in Are, but Erik Guay is already feeling right at home.
    The big Canadian, one of his nation’s best hopes for a medal at these World Championships, finished a solid sixth in Tuesday’s super G and followed that up by finishing second in the first downhill training run Wednesday.
    Guay was one of three Canadians in the top 10 in the super G here (Jan Hudec tied for seventh, Francois Bourque was ninth), but these guys are shooting for medals and not top 10s, Guay stressed.
    “We were pumped. We had a great race, a good team result. But what we want are medals,” he said. “We didn’t quite get it [Tuesday], even in the girls we came so close [Britt Janyk tied for fourth]. But we’re going to keep working hard and see what we can do on Saturday.”
    Saturday is downhill day in Are, and Guay comes in on a roll. He finished second in the final World Cup downhill before worlds at Val d’Isere, and he hasn’t finished outside the top 21 in his past five downhills, including a 10th place in Bormio on Dec. 28.
    “I’m pretty psyched right now. I’m happy that it sort of clicked,” Guay said. “I had a tough start to the season, was working so hard on my technique. Then you start scratching your head, you start asking yourself, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ ”
    Guay managed to find speed on a day when many racers couldn’t on extremely cold snow, which tends to be grippy and difficult to wax for. The course’s jumps, notorious for causing many crashes at last year’s Finals, have been shaved down because of the cold weather and accompanying gusty winds.
    “It’s not the fastest course right now, but if you’re a good skier you should be able to ski in any conditions,” Guay said. “Race day should be a little bit faster. I’m sure it will speed up a little bit every day.”
    The men will race another downhill training run Friday. Some will get another crack at it Thursday in the super combined event, but Guay will be taking the day off and sleeping.
    “It’s fun to see where you stack up against the other guys,” he said. “I think race day will be another close race, so it’s those little things you have to change and look for every hundredth [of a second] that you can.”