Svindal makes history with third super-G victory

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal became the first racer to win three World Cup super-G races on the Saslong course at Val Gardena with a dominant victory on Friday.

The overall World Cup leader, the reigning world downhill champion and super-G bronze medalist, chalked up his 24th career victory as he clocked a fastest time of 1 min, 35.82 sec.

Jan Hudec of Canada was second at a massive 0.58 sec, with Frenchman Adrien Theaux taking third, a further 0.33 sec adrift. They were the only racers to finish within one second of Svindal's winning time.

It was a third World Cup win of the season for the Norwegian and it consolidated his lead atop the overall standings.

"Val Gardena Super G. This place has always been good to me!!! Thanks everyone. Also got my red leader bib back," tweeted Svindal.

"I'm very happy but it was a tough race. There was a lot of action on the course today due to all the terrain. You had to do a good inspection and make a good plan to be fast today.

"The snow is always great here and I like the preparation. It's always perfect and you can tell by all the guys with high numbers making their way to the top of the rankings.

"Val Gardena has always been good to me: in 2002 I was sixth here in the first World Cup super-G I ever started, it was my first top 10 and it marked my big breakthrough."

Hudec's last victory came at the Chamonix downhill in 2012 and the Canadian has been struggling to find a strong finish in super-G since his second place in Crans Montana the same year.

"I'm stoked I was able to ski the way I wanted to ski," he said. "I finally have no pain and that gives me great confidence to push hard and ski to my full potential.

"I was super focused today and I avoided any mistakes, which I made in Lake Louise and Beaver Creek. Also my skis were perfect today, I knew that without major mistakes I could be on the podium."

- Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 12/23/2013 page24)