Italian Innerhofer quickest in final training run at Santa Caterina

By Published On: December 28th, 2015Comments Off on Italian Innerhofer quickest in final training run at Santa Caterina

The second and final training run for the men in advance of tomorrow’s downhill race in Santa Caterina, Italy, took place today under similar conditions to yesterday’s training with darkness and bumps once again the name of the game.

This time around, an Italian posted the fastest time. Christof Innerhofer crossed the line in 1:47.41 seconds, just 0.24 seconds ahead of yesterday’s fastest skier, Hannes Reichelt of Austria. Frenchman Adrien Theaux snagged third, 0.50 seconds back.

Even though the course was slightly faster than in the first training run, all but 14 racers managed to stay on course despite similar conditions the previous day when nearly half of the starters failed to complete the course. With speeds clocked at upwards of 150 kph (or 93 mph), race day looks to be quite the show if conditions prove to be similar.

“I like spectacular slopes,” Innerhofer said following his run. ‘They did a great job here in Santa Caterina, especially in the upper part, so the slope provides great show with lots of big turns. The speed checks prove it, we go up to 150 kph, it’s really crazy.”

“It’s a constant fight through the bumps, all these rolls make the slope really hard, especially with this visibility,” added Reichelt.

According to Theaux, conserving energy on the top portion of the slope was the key to his ability to remain on course and stay aggressive through the demanding lower sections.

“I tried to be relaxed going into this run. So the upper part was not perfect, but it probably helped to keep strengths for the lower part,” he explained. “The goal is to be fast and strong on race day tomorrow.”

The top American finisher was Steven Nyman in 15th, 2.46 seconds back. The U.S. team as a whole had a stronger day, with no DNFs or missed gates and Travis Ganong and Bryce Bennett finishing in the top 30 with 25th- and 30th-place finishes, respectively. Finishing just outside of the top 30 was Marco Sullivan in 32nd, Jared Goldberg in 33rd, and Andrew Weibrecht in 40th. Wiley Maple was 54th.

Notably absent from the start list is Canadian Erik Guay. The speed specialist is opting out of competing this week and is instead resting his knee at home in Canada and will return to action with his sights set on the start of the January classics in Wengen.

It was also announced that the men’s slalom race originally scheduled in Zagreb on Jan. 6 has officially been moved to Santa Caterina due to a lack of snow in the Croatian capital.

Tomorrow’s race is scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. CET, with live streaming available for authenticated U.S. cable subscribers on NBC Sports Live Extra.


Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff.
 1  4  293006 INNERHOFER Christof 1984 ITA  1:47.41
 2  17  50742 REICHELT Hannes 1980 AUT  1:47.65  +0.24
 3  9  192746 THEAUX Adrien 1984 FRA  1:47.91  +0.50
 4  3  422139 KILDE Aleksander Aamodt 1992 NOR  1:48.17  +0.76
 5  25  53980 KRIECHMAYR Vincent 1991 AUT  1:48.57  +1.16
 6  19  291459 PARIS Dominik 1989 ITA  1:48.61  +1.20
 7  15  292455 FILL Peter 1982 ITA  1:48.67  +1.26
 8  16  421483 JANSRUD Kjetil 1985 NOR  1:48.99  +1.58
 9  37  561217 KOSI Klemen 1991 SLO  1:49.08  +1.67
 10  34  53981 KROELL Johannes 1991 AUT  1:49.15  +1.74
 10  6  292514 HEEL Werner 1982 ITA  1:49.15  +1.74
 12  26  54005 STRIEDINGER Otmar 1991 AUT  1:49.75  +2.34
 13  8  51215 BAUMANN Romed 1986 AUT  1:49.78  +2.37
 14  30  200379 SANDER Andreas 1989 GER  1:49.81  +2.40
 15  12  533866 NYMAN Steven 1982 USA  1:49.87  +2.46
 16  48  990081 CASSE Mattia 1990 ITA  1:49.94  +2.53
 17  27  191964 POISSON David 1982 FRA  1:49.95  +2.54
 18  46  194190 ROGER Brice 1990 FRA  1:50.00  +2.59
 19  20  421328 SVINDAL Aksel Lund 1982 NOR  1:50.06  +2.65
 20  1  50753 KROELL Klaus 1980 AUT  1:50.19  +2.78
 21  29  293141 VARETTONI Silvano 1984 ITA  1:50.33  +2.92
 22  21  511313 JANKA Carlo 1986 SUI  1:50.42  +3.01
 23  33  53933 SCHWEIGER Patrick 1990 AUT  1:50.53  +3.12
 24  18  192932 FAYED Guillermo 1985 FRA  1:50.54  +3.13
 25  14  530874 GANONG Travis 1988 USA  1:50.59  +3.18
 26  11  191740 CLAREY Johan 1981 FRA  1:50.61  +3.20
 27  55  54009 WALDER Christian 1991 AUT  1:50.65  +3.24
 28  10  53817 FRANZ Max 1989 AUT  1:50.70  +3.29
 29  57  511808 SCHMED Fernando 1991 SUI  1:50.89  +3.48
 30  2  6530104 BENNETT Bryce 1992 USA  1:51.03  +3.62
 31  49  202196 BRANDNER Klaus 1990 GER  1:51.14  +3.73
 32  23  533131 SULLIVAN Marco 1980 USA  1:51.15  +3.74
 33  39  934643 GOLDBERG Jared 1991 USA  1:51.18  +3.77
 34  56  53975 HEMETSBERGER Daniel 1991 AUT  1:51.29  +3.88
 35  41  103512 FRISCH Jeffrey 1984 CAN  1:51.38  +3.97
 36  40  194298 GIEZENDANNER Blaise 1991 FRA  1:51.55  +4.14
 36  31  560447 SPORN Andrej 1981 SLO  1:51.55  +4.14
 38  58  512042 KRYENBUEHL Urs 1994 SUI  1:51.63  +4.22
 39  38  561216 KLINE Bostjan 1991 SLO  1:51.64  +4.23
 40  22  530939 WEIBRECHT Andrew 1986 USA  1:51.73  +4.32
 41  61  110324 VON APPEN Henrik 1994 CHI  1:51.80  +4.39
 41  36  194542 GIRAUD MOINE Valentin 1992 FRA  1:51.80  +4.39
 43  44  180570 ROMAR Andreas 1989 FIN  1:51.87  +4.46
 44  43  561255 CATER Martin 1992 SLO  1:51.90  +4.49
 45  24  511529 GISIN Marc 1988 SUI  1:52.08  +4.67
 46  47  512124 HINTERMANN Niels 1995 SUI  1:52.21  +4.80
 47  60  6290985 BUZZI Emanuele 1994 ITA  1:52.44  +5.03
 48  63  104096 THOMPSON Broderick 1994 CAN  1:52.45  +5.04
 49  51  511847 MANI Nils 1992 SUI  1:52.50  +5.09
 50  13  150398 BANK Ondrej 1980 CZE  1:52.60  +5.19
 51  52  422310 SEJERSTED Adrian Smiseth 1994 NOR  1:52.90  +5.49
 52  35  511981 WEBER Ralph 1993 SUI  1:53.16  +5.75
 53  7  102899 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel 1984 CAN  1:53.44  +6.03
 54  50  930024 MAPLE Wiley 1990 USA  1:53.62  +6.21
 55  65  6190006 SCHULLER Victor 1995 FRA  1:53.71  +6.30
 56  54  294904 PANGRAZZI Paolo 1988 ITA  1:53.87  +6.46
 57  45  380292 ZRNCIC DIM Natko 1986 CRO  1:54.03  +6.62
 58  64  194666 DELBERGHE William 1993 FRA  1:54.65  +7.24
 59  66  370031 ALESSANDRIA Arnaud 1993 MON  1:54.74  +7.33
 60  53  293550 MARSAGLIA Matteo 1985 ITA  1:56.37  +8.96
 61  32  103762 WERRY Tyler 1991 CAN  2:06.44  +19.03
Did not start 1st run
 28  103271 THOMSEN Benjamin 1987 CAN
Did not finish 1st run
 62  6290393 CAZZANIGA Davide 1992 ITA
 59  6190176 BAILET Matthieu 1996 FRA
 42  294277 KLOTZ Siegmar 1987 ITA
 5  194167 MUZATON Maxence 1990 FRA

 

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About the Author: Sean Higgins

A Lake Tahoe native and University of Vermont graduate, Higgins was a member of the Catamounts' 2012 NCAA title winning squad and earned first team All-American honors in 2013. Prior to coming to Ski Racing Media, he coached U14s for the Squaw Valley Ski Team.