UPDATED: Kilde out for the season with knee injury

Reigning overall champ Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was injured in a fall during super G training in Hinterreit, Austria. Kilde was taken to a hospital in Innsbruck where it was later confirmed he tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee, bringing his season to an end.

“It is as I feared, but as I did not hope,” Kilde told Norwegian media immediately after the diagnosis. “I am in very good hands and have people with a lot of experience around me, so everything should go well. It’s especially annoying because I’m in the shape of my life, but I will come back strong.”

The accident comes on the heels of injuries to Lucas Braathen and Atle Lie McGrath, who injured their knees in Adelboden last weekend. Braathen sustained an injury to the collateral ligament in his left knee, ending his season. McGrath suffered a ligament strain and will be out several weeks.

“Now everything comes at once, and it is impossible to say what the reason is,” said Kilde. “We know it’s a risky sport and small margins, and sometimes it does not work properly.”

With the diagnosis, Alexis Pinturault’s chances of winning a long-awaited first overall title for a Frenchman since Luc Alphand in 1997 have increased significantly. The 29-year-old is currently 158 points ahead of Kilde and 217 points ahead of Swiss Marco Odermatt.