Former two-time World Cup overall champion Aksel Lund Svindal captured his first World Cup victory of the year with a superb run in the season-opening super-G on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Norwegian clocked 1 minute, 23.47 seconds to beat Swiss speed specialist Didier Cuche, who finished in 1:23.70. France’s Adrien Theaux placed third in 1:24.11.
It marked the 15th career World Cup win for Svindal and sixth in the super-G. This was also his third super-G win in Lake Louise to go with victories in 2007 and 2005.
After winning in Lake Louise in 2007, Svindal traveled to Beaver Creek, Colorado, where he suffered serious injuries in a crash during a training run on the Birds of Prey piste. The following season after his horrific crash, Svindal returned to the World Cup full-time in 2008-2009 to claim the overall crown for the second time in his career.
He is hoping his results in Lake Louise set him up to make another run at the overall Crystal Globe title.
The 37-year-old Cuche now has a silver medal in super-G to go with the gold he seized in Saturday’s season-opening downhill. Cuche is the reigning World Cup champion in both super-G and downhill.
Officials were forced to move the starting gate of the men’s super-G down the hill to the women’s super-G start because of heavy snowfall overnight.
Some of the racers complained the course was too soft, but not Cuche.
“We have raced in much worse conditions than this,” said Cuche, who almost took a tumble on a hard turn on Sunday, but managed to hold on. “It was really soft, but most of the guys made it down safe.”
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