Odermatt skis to victory in Lake Louise SG
LAKE LOUIS. Marco Odermatt (SUI). Photo: GEPA pictures
Lake Louise has provided another great race.
Last season’s World Cup overall champion Marco Odermatt has revealed that he is the favorite to repeat. With bib six, Odermatt arrived at the finish 1.39 seconds faster than any racer who started before him. Watching the run, it was apparent it would be nearly impossible to beat.
However, the 2021-22 Super-G World Cup Globe winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was waiting to ski. Notably, Kilde had previously won the downhill on the same slope. He skied with tremendous power but could not match the time of Odermatt. Kilde finished just 0.37 seconds behind the Swiss racer.
Austrian star and Olympic champion, Matthias Mayer, could not match the speed of Odermatt or Kilde, but was better than all the others and finished in third, 0.78 behind Odermatt.
Kilde won four of last season’s seven super-G races, finishing second in another, on his way to claiming the World Cup title in that event. Odermatt, the overall champion, won in super-G twice and finished second on another two occasions.
The 25-year-old Odermatt won the only other race this season prior to this weekend, a giant slalom in Sölden on Oct. 23.
These three men are currently the best and will be excited to capitalize on their momentum next week in Beaver Creek.
Perhaps the biggest story of the day is Chilean racer Henrik Von Appen. Von Appen, who trains mainly with the French, skied his way into 18th with bib 41. This was the first time he had scored World Cup points; he had participated in 63 World Cups before today.
After a disappointing downhill, Canadian Jack Crawford rebounded strongly with 10th place. He was joined in the top thirty by three teammates. Brodie Seger finished just behind him in 13th. Canadian Jeff Read, bib 46, finished 21st, and his teammate Riley Seger bib 55, finished 27th. Riley will be very excited to ski in Beaver Creek next week, as he scored his only other World Cup points there last season.
The Stifel US Alpine team had one very promising result. Kyle Negomir, who has spent most of the last two seasons recovering from injury, scored his first World Cup points. Negomir finished 23rd with bib 51. This represents a performance to be very proud of.
Six other North Americans charged down the Super-G, either missing the top 30 or did not finish.
Skiing is a very high-energy sport. Speed events are the highest energy. It is impossible to understand the respect the racers deserve for their courage. Because of the kinetic energy involved, dangerous falls happen all the time.
Unfortunately, Swiss skier Mauro Caviezel crashed in his first race back after a long recovery from a concussion. Caviezel had previously suffered a traumatic brain injury during the 2020-21 season. In today’s Super-G he was out of balance when he hit a gate, fell, and slid at high speed into the netting. Fortunately, he gained consciousness before his airlift evacuation from the Lake Louise venue. Everyone in ski racing is hoping for his quick and complete recovery.
Analysis of the top three and North Americans in the top 30
Top 30 results from Lake Louise World Cup Super-G 11/27/22
The Associated Press and Ski Racing Media contributed to this coverage.
This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.
About the Author: SR Staff Report
