Oh Canada - Crawford Wins Kitz DH, Alexander Third

It may have taken 112 attempts but James Crawford (CAN/Head) chose the perfect place to secure a first Audi FIS World Cup win, as he mastered the Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel iconic Downhill, on Saturday.

A parade of Alpine skiing’s most famous names have triumphed down the Streif and thanks to the run of his life, Crawford, starting in bib No.20 after a challenging past season-and-a-half, can add his name to that list.

The last Canadian to win the Kitzbühel downhill (DH) was Todd Brooker, 42 years ago in 1983, with Ken Read finishing third that day to give Canada a double podium that day as well. That season there were two DH races that weekend in Kitzbühel and Steve Podborski finished second the day before.

Racing on the legendary Streif course in front of estimated crowd of over 45,000, Crawford was the twentieth man out of the gate and rocketed down the course to take the win by .08 of a second and in the process bumped his teammate Alexander into third place

The Canadian also did what no one else has managed this season; as he pushed a Swiss skier off top spot.

For a long while it looked like Alexis Monney (SUI/Stöckli) would continue his nation’s clean sweep of Downhill victories (four-in-a-row this season, as well as victory in the World Cup Finals last season). But the Stöckli skier ended an agonising eight-hundredths of a second away from completing the lauded Bormio-Kitzbühel double.

Just behind him, Cameron Alexander (CAN/Rossignol) completed a superb day for his team, grabbing third and marking the first time since 1983 that two Canadians have been on the Kitzbühel podium.

Meanwhile, Marco Odermatt’s (SUI/Stöckli) wait for victory in the Hahnenkamm continues. A day after powering to victory in the Super G, the man who has won just about everything else in Alpine skiing made a couple of small but critical mistakes in the Steilhang - the most technically demanding section down the Streif. That left the Wengen and Val Gardena winner 0.55 seconds behind Crawford, down in sixth position.

And after a difficult season so far, it was a case of so near yet so far for the hometown challenge. Roared on by the 50,000-plus crowd, Daniel Hemetsberger (AUT/Fischer) looked to have grabbed his first podium in three years, and Austria’s first in the Downhill all season. But Crawford’s brilliance dropped the Fischer skier into fourth, leaving a host of Austria’s most famous ski fans – led by Arnold Schwarzenegger – shaking their heads.

Arnie though will no doubt be back, after an extraordinary day of high-speed racing. But despite a host of the world’s finest putting in compelling performances, it was Crawford, the reigning Super G world champion but never a World Cup winner in any discipline, who takes the headlines.

“It’s been a dream of mine to win the classics,” said Crawford, who arrived in Kitzbühel with three podiums but no victories in his 52 previous World Cup Downhill starts.

“I was really happy that I was able to bring my best skiing today. I feel like I have been struggling to do so this year and for it to come in Kitzbühel, for it to be enough to win, it means a lot. I just saw the little green light and I kind of just burst out with emotions. I honestly didn’t really know how to feel but excitement was definitely the first thing. An incredible feeling to have it happen in Kitzbühel.”

Arms outstretched at the finish, Crawford was indebted to his renowned technical skills as he put in a remarkable bottom section. Fastest in the field through the heart-in-the-mouth Hausbergkante jump and the subsequent Traverse, the 27-year-old could hardly believe what he had done.

“It’s really just kind of relief. It was a little bit surprising, you never really know if it was enough,” Crawford said in the finish area, before reflecting on his teammate joining him on the podium. “We can contend with the Swiss,” the winner added.

They certainly can, with his and Alexander’s performances dredging up memories of a golden era for Canada.

"Canada hasn’t won since the Crazy Canucks back in the day, so to do that today is amazing. It’s a really special day and I honestly don’t know what to think right now. I don’t think you can ever be perfectly comfortable on the Streif, it’s a beast for sure, but I felt like I was able to push and then attack all the way down,” Alexander said. “I was able to do that today. This place is amazing, my favourite place to race every year.”

Despite the incredible level of difficulty, the majority of the field appeared to agree with Alexander, with the party starting early in the finish area.

Monney is undoubtedly one of those to thrive the harder it gets and the 25-year-old came so close to triumphing on the two tracks commonly hailed as the most difficult on tour.

“I thought it would be OK for the first but it’s incredible, here in Kitzbühel, second place,” said Monney who clocked close to 144kmph down the Zielschuss. “It was not so icy and bumpy as the last years. So it was pretty, not easy but really nice to ski. I had a lot of fun. I am happy I am in second place.”

His lauded teammate, Odermatt, knows just what second place in Kitzbühel feels like.

“Last year I was second and I was like ‘argh… this year I was in the finish and I was like ‘it’s ok’,” Odermatt said. “I am absolutely not sad about my race today, it was a solid race, not the best. With not the best race you cannot win here in Kitzbühel, the Downhill.”

The leader of the Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom and Overall Crystal Globe standings had made no secret of the fact that winning this race was a principle aim for the season.

“A big goal and dream remains,” Odermatt said with a wry smile.