Svindal snatches downhill victory in Lake Louise
Aksel Lund Svindal denied Peter Fill his second FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup win in Lake Louise as he snatched victory on Saturday.
Aksel Lund Svindal claimed victory in the opening downhill race of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup as he pipped long-time leader Peter Fill by one hundredth of a second.
The Norwegian was able to keep pace with Fill at the top of the 3,103-metre course in Lake Louise on Saturday, and found crucial time in the final sector to snatch victory.
Svindal was quicker than his rival in the race for the line and he stopped the clock at one minute 47.29 seconds to take the win.
It was harsh on Fill – fourth out of the start gate in Canada – after he posted a competitive time early on, the Italian watching on as racer after racer failed to beat him.
Only Svindal was able to, with Travis Ganong (+0.36s) completing the top three.
Defending downhill champion Kjetil Jansrud had looked quick in training prior to Saturday's run, but he caught an edge early on and the loss of balance that followed lost him valuable time, the Norwegian having to settle for ninth.
Hannes Reichelt, second to Jansrud last season, was unable to kick his 2016 season off with a win as he struggled to stay close to the leaders, while Austrian compatriot Matthias Mayer was 0.70secs back in eighth.