Kriechmayr hits brilliant best in Kvitfjell to keep super-G globe race alive

An exciting day of racing in Norway saw a late season charge from Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) inject new life into the men’s speed season. Marco Odermatt (SUI) finished joint third, meaning the race for the super-G crystal globe will go down to the World Cup finals in Saalbach.

It has been Kriechmayr’s weekend. On Saturday, the Austrian veteran was at his buccaneering best as he raced to second place in the downhill in Kvitfjell. On Sunday, he went one better, showing all his race savvy to boss the super-G.

On a piste shortened due to weather conditions,  Kriechmayr saw the line better than his opponents. He carried remarkable speed out of the mid-course turns, and skied the final pitch quicker than his rivals.

Jeffrey Read (CAN) got second place with an smooth, relaxed and mistake-free early run, finishing +0.17 seconds adrift, to record the best FIS World Cup result of his career.

Tied for third, +0.19 behind, were Dominik Paris (ITA), who loves skiing at Kvitfjell but didn’t hit his previous heights here, and Odermatt (SUI) – who clocked his first podium at the Norwegian resort, which is one of his least successful hunting grounds.

Odermatt could have won the super-G crystal globe here by finishing ahead of Kriechmayr, but hasn’t looked at his supreme best in Norway.

Kriechmayr was formidable. “The top of my run was pretty good and also in the bottom, in the middle there was one turn that was not perfect, but I tried to push on the limit,” he said. “On the Tommy Moe, I made speed for the finish.”

He was not optimistic about overhauling the Swiss racer in the super-G standings, however. Kriechmayr will realistically need Odermatt to have an off day in Saalbach to stand a chance. “There is no hope, Odermatt is impressive,” he said. “He is 80 points in front so I am not hoping for the globe.”

Here, Odermatt saw a slightly inferior line and a small error slow down his otherwise typically aggressive performance – but it all still represented progress, he declared.

“It is very cool, I am very happy with a podium here,” he said. “It is another step in the right direction at this venue.

“I thought it was two small mistakes. I planned to ski the Tommy Moe really high like Vince did to get the speed, but I couldn’t make it, and that was a little bit annoying. So the first thought at the finish was ‘ah, not again’.”

Read, meanwhile, was delighted with his first World Cup podium. “I’m really excited, and happy with how I was able to throw it down out there,” he said. “Kvitfjell is always a notoriously tight race. I love this race and it is so much fun, and a great vibe.

“It’s tough to be close [to winning], especially when I feel I gave it up just on the bottom. I lost more than three tenths there, but for me it’s the first time even close to the lead, and the first time in a podium position, so I’m excited.”

Read believes the Norwegian conditions helped him feel comfortable. “There’s something about the snow I think. It is similar to home, what we train on,” he said. “It gives you confidence and it clicks when you are here.”

The son of Canadian ski legend Ken Read added that the ‘Crazy Cannuck’ would be going wild back home.

“My dad lost his last grey hair a while ago,” he said. “He is at home cheering away. He’s always let me carve my own path. My dad was so good, he realised the presence he had, and he didn’t lay expectation on us.

“I see his gondola in Kitzbühel, all the races he won, it’s hard not to notice, but I use it as inspiration.”

Paris, a master of this course, saw Kriechmayr’s mid-course turns as the key to the win.

“He did very well on the Tommy Moe – maybe he watched me on the last race,” he said with a laugh. “I had a little mistake on the Tommy Moe today to bring the speed to the bottom. If you do well there it makes a big difference to the other guys.

“I think it was good skiing, maybe not the best but the result makes me happy.”

The final super-G of the men’s season takes place in Saalbach on Friday, 22 March.