Worlds: Caution the watchword for DH test run

Say what you will about the course Bernard Russi had built down the face of the Bellevarde mountain at Val d’Isere, it does provide a test. The first training run for the men’s World Championship downhill showed that test is being approached with caution.Say what you will about the course Bernard Russi had built down the face of the Bellevarde mountain at Val d’Isere, it does provide a test. The first training run for the men’s World Championship downhill showed that test is being approached with caution.

The best skiers come off a series of storied World Cup courses they know like the backs of their hands. Wengen’s course has a 79-year history. Kitzbuehel’s is 69 years. This course was used twice (in 1991 and 1992) and for a few training runs and a lowered start combined downhill last season. There is no proven way to run it, no agreed upon manner of attack, no comfort zone of familiarity, not even many veterans to go to for information.

“I have no idea how the course will set up for Saturday (race day),” said Canadian Jan Hudec. “I barely knew where I was today.”
 
With snow falling on top and a solid cloudbank cutting off the sun, the visibility was awful, providing even more reason to not take any unnecessary risk. A forecast of the imminent arrival of even worse weather made it imperative to learn as much as possible about the unusually twisting course, but no one was going to be impressed, or intimidated by a fast training time.

Although relatively short at 2,988 meters (3,268 yards), the Bellevarde sports 48 gates, many of them representing hard, taxing turns. It is, says American Marco Sullivan, “a leg burner.”

All of the racers who took today’s training run did so at less than full throttle, with the possible exception of Christopher Gruber who was trying to ice his starting position on the Austrian team and was also demonstrating his prowess to a new ski sponsor (Head from Fischer). The fastest time was posted by Gruber in 2:10.82. Michael Walchhofer finished in 2:11.29 with the second fastest run and Natko Zrncic-Dim was third fastest at 2:11.52. Expect that Saturday’s championship will be won with a time that will approach two minutes flat.

Skiers were ordered to stand straight up, as opposed to the aerodynamic tuck, along a brief flat before the final jump and steep that drops into the stadium, to prevent racers from achieving too much air. But nobody seemed to be gunning for a fast time. Hermann Maier came to a dead stop, looking back up hill as if in inspection during his run.

“It is really tiring,” said U.S. racer Erik Fisher, munching on a post-race peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “It is a smart man’s race.”

Perhaps the smartest American on the start list was Steven Nyman who elected not to race after fighting to recover from a leg injury that kept him out of Kitzbuehel’s race last month.

“I pulled the plug,” said Nyman. “I can’t really do a one leg squat. I think it is smarter to fight another day.”

Ted Ligety and Erik Fisher both missed gates – as did 16 other racers. Bode Miller posted the 13th without once touching his hand to the snow and Marco Sullivan was 38th without an ounce of go-for-it in his run. Andrew Weibrecht lost a ski and slid into the fencing. He skied down under his own power and seemed none the worse for wear.

The course, Sullivan said, was surprisingly good, though a few snowflakes getting under his goggles shortly after leaving the starthouse quickly convinced him to stay out of trouble. “They changed it up some so it has a little more flow to it. It is a course you’re just going to have to take by the horns and tackle.”

World Cup tour leader Ivica Kostelic said the course was “better than last year,” but also said he would need two more days of training to be any where near comfortable on it. He is recovering from a back injury and skipped the super G that opened the World Championships. The 37 year old Marco Buechel simply said of the course, “basically, I don’t like it.”

Buechel was not alone in feeling that way. The course may be good for spectators, but it is just not fun to race. “It is not a feel good course,” says Hudec. “And it’s tough to get pumped up for it when everybody you ask says crap about it.”

There will be course work before tomorrow’s scheduled training run.

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Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Total Time
1	29	50451	GRUBER Christoph	1976	AUT	2:10.82
2	16	50041	WALCHHOFER Michael	1975	AUT	2:11.29
3	42	380292	ZRNCIC-DIM Natko	1986	CRO	2:11.52
4	19	102263	GUAY Erik	1981	CAN	2:11.66
5	26	191116	DALCIN Pierre-Emmanuel	1977	FRA	2:11.82
6	12	510030	CUCHE Didier	1974	SUI	2:12.12
7	8	350032	BUECHEL Marco	1971	LIE	2:12.29
8	15	421328	SVINDAL Aksel Lund	1982	NOR	2:12.36
9	17	510727	DEFAGO Didier	1977	SUI	2:12.56
10	11	293006	INNERHOFER Christof	1984	ITA	2:12.75
11	28	191964	POISSON David	1982	FRA	2:12.79
12	14	50753	KROELL Klaus	1980	AUT	2:12.81
13	18	532431	MILLER Bode	1977	USA	2:13.24
14	40	290998	STAUDACHER Patrick	1980	ITA	2:13.62
15	2	192746	THEAUX Adrien	1984	FRA	2:13.83
16	54	192504	MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas	1984	FRA	2:15.05
17	5	102271	HUDEC Jan	1981	CAN	2:15.88
18	1	501076	OLSSON Hans	1984	SWE	2:15.93
19	49	421400	MYHRE Lars Elton	1984	NOR	2:16.20
20	9	102899	OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel	1984	CAN	2:16.26
21	38	201606	KEPPLER Stephan	1983	GER	2:16.62
22	21	560332	JERMAN Andrej	1978	SLO	2:17.21
23	75	53831	HIRSCHER Marcel	1989	AUT	2:17.23
24	46	102961	DIXON Robbie	1985	CAN	2:17.28
25	55	220656	DRAKE Edward	1986	GBR	2:17.74
26	10	292455	FILL Peter	1982	ITA	2:18.07
27	33	380260	KOSTELIC Ivica	1979	CRO	2:18.11
28	69	380291	RATKIC Ivan	1986	CRO	2:18.41
29	3	51215	BAUMANN Romed	1986	AUT	2:18.50
30	59	421483	JANSRUD Kjetil	1985	NOR	2:18.74
31	32	510890	ZURBRIGGEN Silvan	1981	SUI	2:19.21
32	39	561067	PERKO Rok	1985	SLO	2:19.49
33	64	480736	HOROSHILOV Alexandr	1984	RUS	2:19.55
34	60	150644	KRYZL Krystof	1986	CZE	2:19.58
35	48	201542	STRODL Peter	1982	GER	2:20.48
36	58	220695	CRAWFORD Douglas	1987	GBR	2:21.04
37	53	491129	TERRA Ferran	1987	SPA	2:21.77
38	13	533131	SULLIVAN Marco	1980	USA	2:21.93
39	67	700724	BABUSIAK Jaroslav	1984	SVK	2:22.76
40	7	50423	MAIER Hermann	1972	AUT	2:22.78
41	72	481006	ZUEV Stepan	1988	RUS	2:25.11
42	66	511352	VILETTA Sandro	1986	SUI	2:28.94
43	74	250208	THORVALDSSON Arni	1984	ISL	2:33.33
44	71	250267	SIGURGEIRSSON Stefan Jon	1989	ISL	2:34.88

 

Did not start 1st run: VAN BUYNDER Frederik (BEL), SIMARI BIRKNER Cristian Javier (ARG), LARSSON Markus (SWE), STRODL Andreas (GER), BRANCH Craig (AUS), MOELGG Manfred (ITA), NYMAN Steven (USA), JAERBYN Patrik (SWE)

Did not finish 1st run: GEORGIEV Georgi (BUL), DE LA CUESTA Paul (SPA), RAINER Niklas (SWE), WEIBRECHT Andrew (USA), GRAF Bernhard (AUT), LIZEROUX Julien (FRA)

Disqualified 1st run: CHONGAROV Nikola (BUL), BYDLINSKI Maciej (POL), STUTZ Paul (CAN), GEORGIEV Stefan (BUL), GORZA Ales (SLO), SIROKI Tin (CRO), GRUENENFELDER Tobias (SUI), ZAHROBSKY Petr (CZE), GRANGE Jean-Baptiste (FRA), LIGETY Ted (USA), RAICH Benjamin (AUT), FISHER Erik (USA), STREITBERGER Georg (AUT), KUCERA John (CAN), JANKA Carlo (SUI), HEEL Werner (ITA), HOFFMANN Ambrosi (SUI), THANEI Stefan (ITA)