LAKE LOUISE, Alberta – Matthias Mayer edged fellow Austrian Vincent Kreichmayr on Saturday in the season-opening World Cup men’s downhill at Lake Louise.

Mayer finished in 1 minute, 47.74 seconds. He started seventh.

“Of course, I’m very satisfied,” said Mayer, also the 2018 downhill winner at Lake Louise. “It’s the first race of the season. I know that I had some good work in summer. Not only me. Also, Vincent had good work this summer. As a team, we are in very good shape.”

Kreichmayr had a time of 1:47.97. He was the first racer on the course.

“All in all, a really good run,” Kriechmayr said. “Matthias was amazing today and he was the right winner for this race.”

Feuz was the overall leader in men’s downhill last season, followed by Mayer.

After more than 15 inches of snow in a 24-hour period forced the cancellation of a downhill Friday, course workers worked early Saturday to shift snow and groom the course for a noon start.

“They did really good work on the slope today,” Mayer said. “It was good skiing today and it was World Cup conditions.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle was the top U.S. finisher in 10th.

“I’m looking to the positives and addressing what the difference was between my 10th place, which I’m pleased with, and where I was at earlier in the week,” reported Cochran-Siegle after the race. “I definitely could have fought for a much better position. But it’s a good start, especially in downhill for me. This is my best start to the season in downhill, but we all know we’re more capable, not just myself but Bryce, Travis, Steven, all of us… I’ll be trying to bring intensity tomorrow and obviously Beaver Creek.”

Bryce Bennett and Travis Ganong also snagged top-30 finishes, tying for 25th overall. Steven Nyman and Erik Arvidsson finished 35th, and 37th respectively, followed by Sam Morse in 41st. Jared Goldberg had a short run, skidding out in the top section of the course and losing a ski.

“For myself, it’s an okay day, but I think for the U.S., probably a little disappointing,” explained Cochran-Siegle. “We don’t want to be contending for 10th or 25th or whatever it is. We want to be winning and fighting for those top spots. There’s still work to do, and the first race is always a little funky. So we gotta focus on what we can control and what we can bring to the table next time so we’re more competitive.”

Toronto’s Jack Crawford was top Canadian in 24th, 1.98 seconds behind Mayer. Teammates Brodie Seger, of North Vancouver, B.C., finished just out of the points in 31st and Calgary’s Jeff Read finished 39th. Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver, B.C., recorded fast splits at the top intervals but nearly crashed, recovering to cross the line in 58th. “It was definitely a hard day,” Crawford said. “I was definitely hoping for better. The light was flat and the new snow made it a little bit inconsistent, so starting later in the pack, there were some pretty big holes,” he explained. “I managed to watch a few guys who were starting just ahead of me, which helped me create a plan on the fly to deal with all of that changing environment and the holes down the course.” For Seger, who finished 0.01 seconds outside the points, is looking for more tomorrow. “I’m not going for 30th places this season,” the 25-year-old said. “I want to be a lot deeper than that.” Both Seger and Crawford are expected to have start numbers within the top group for Sunday’s super G, the final race for the men’s World Cup event at Lake Louise.

Before Saturday’s race, Manny Osborne-Paradis took a farewell run down the course carrying a Canadian flag and dressed as a Canadian Cowboy. The 37-year-old left the sport in October 2020 after 13 years of World Cup racing and 11 medal podium finishes. In 2006 at Lake Louise, Osborne-Paradis, then 22, finished second in the downhill at Lake Louise. Twelve years later, his career ended on the same course when Osborne-Paradis hit soft snow during a 2018 training run and catapulted head over heels into a safety net, snapping his tibia and fibula.

A super-G is set for Sunday. The women arrive in Alberta next week for two downhills and a super-G at the resort in Banff National Park.

RESULTS

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more.