LAKE LOUISE — A surprise 11th-place finish by Jan Hudec hid some disappointing results for Canada’s skiers Saturday while Michael Walchhofer helped restore Austrian pride in his final World Cup downhill at Lake Louise.
Walchhofer, who plans to retire at the end of the season, broke an Austrian men’s slump with a victory in the first World Cup downhill race of the year.
His time of one minute 47.78 seconds was the first downhill win for an Austrian man since March 2009. It also came on the course where Walchhofer won his first downhill in 2003.
“It couldn’t be better,” said the 35-year-old from Altenmarkt, who earned his 12th downhill win and 16th victory of his career. “I hope it’s not the last victory of my career.
“I felt good, but not perfect before the race. That I can be so fast today, it gives me a lot of self-confidence for the next races.”
Walchhofer’s teammate Mario Scheiber finished tied for second with Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway in a time of 1:48.33.
Hudec, who has become the poster boy for misfortune on the Canadian team, brought a home-town crowd to its feet when he blasted across the finish line in a time of 1:49.31 after starting 42nd. The 29-year-old from Calgary celebrated by leaning over and pumping his fists.
“Words can’t describe it,” said an emotional Hudec, who held his four-year-old son Oaklee in the finish. “It was an inspired run. Short of a miracle, I don’t know what else it was.”
Hudec’s finish was a bright spot on an otherwise dull day for the Canadian team.
Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Invermere, B.C., was 13th in 1:49.33; Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., 24th in 1:50.00; and Robbie Dixon of North Vancouver, B.C., 31st in 1:50.26.
Bode Miller was the top American, placing eighth in 1:49.04.
The Canadian team wore special, custom-graphic suits for the race, which paid tribute to the uniform worn by the RCMP. The suits had a scarlet tunic, complete with imitation cross-strap and belt. The pants were black, with yellow stripes on the side.
The outfit met with mixed reviews.
“I have never felt so violated in a racing suit,” said one team member.
Guay wasn’t pleased with the way the red tunic ended at the skier’s waist.
“I wish they would have made it end a little higher so it’s not quite a booty short,” he laughed. “I think they are pretty funny.”
The suits will only be worn at Lake Louise.
Hudec has spent the last several years undergoing six knee operations — five on his right knee — and skied Saturday with a throbbing pain in his back. His spirits were low after turning in poor times during training this week.
“My confidence was taking a beating,” said Hudec, who won the downhill here in 2007 after finishing second at the world championships. “I was going back to the hotel, trying to look at video, figuring out where I was so slow.
“I just had a feeling I could put down a good run today and decided to go for it.”
Just as Hudec was poised to blast out of the gate, fog rolled across the course, forcing a delay. That would have messed with the minds of some skiers.
“I’ve been through so much crap in my last eight years on the World Cup, that’s one of those things that barely fazes me anymore,” Hudec shrugged. “If you can’t overcome that, you can’t become of the best guys in the world and race for the podium.”
Mistakes and first-race jitters pushed the rest of the Canadians back in the field. The team already was looking forward to Sunday’s super-giant slalom.
Osborne-Paradis, who won the super-giant slalom here last year, said the icy, 3.1-kilometre course was like “walking on marbles.”
“It was just one big mistake I made,” he said. “That mistake cost me a lot of time. There are just little things to work on.”
Guay, who often starts the season slowly, had hoped for a better result.
“The whole way down I just felt like I was trying to catch up,” said Guay, who won the final two super-G races of the season last year to claim the discipline’s Crystal Globe.
“I would have liked to get off to a good start here today. I will go back, regroup, refocus, and try and get something going for tomorrow.”
Dixon threw his coat in frustration after his run.
“I had high expectations for myself today,” he said. “I came out with the right attitude, the right intensity and it didn’t work out.”
Scheiber said putting two Austrians on the podium was good news for a team that had faced criticism at home. The Austrian men failed to win a medal at Vancouver 2010.
“This is a perfect start for our team,” he said.
Svindal, who won the silver medal in the Olympic downhill, wasn’t surprised by the Austrian show of force.
“They had some bad luck last year,” he said. “I never counted them as gone.
“It’s impressive, but not surprising.”
Other Canadians among the 65 finishers included Benjamin Thomsen of Invermere, 44th in 1:51.14; Louis-Pierre Helie of Berthierville, Que., 47th in 1;51.29; and Dustin Cook of Ottawa, 61st in 1:52.64.