Men’s Downhill, Feb. 12 Three days after the super G win by Christof Innerhofer, Erik Guay brought Canada its sec- ond straight downhill crown with a victory that should not have surprised anyone. Canada has a legacy at Garmisch, and Guay had already owned a piece of that. After winning gold he owns a bigger piece. He adds the title of world downhill champion to four podiums earned here in World Cup (in- cluding a downhill win in 2007 and a super G win in 2010). But the Canadian legend stretches back decades further than that. Steve Podborski won three downhills at Garmisch in ‘81, ‘82 and ‘84. Brian Stemmle added a second place downhill result in ‘96 and Francois Bourque posted third in a 2005 super G. Guay said he “got a little bit lucky,” with his bib draw — which would become a recurring theme — and Swiss silver medalist Didier Cuche was not shy about mentioning how little chance he had on a course that grew spongy and tracked-up as warm temperatures attacked the course ven in the shade of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak. But do not doubt that Guay earned this title. Three seasons ago, shortly after the track was re-cut, Guay hiked every inch of it, making mental notes of where a race could be won or lost. “I walked the whole track as soon as they cut it, and there were definitely some challenges, but the Freefall was one of those intimidating parts — really steep — and I said from the first day that was where you could win that race,” Guay said. “If you ski the turn coming into the jump well, then you carry all your speed into the finish, and that’s where it is kind of won or lost. It definitely worked out,” Guay said, pausing to
look at his name on the final result sheet, “because you see the No. 1 there.”
If Freefall was where Guay collected the three-tenths of a second margin by which he won,
or if his victory came from his low bib number ( 10) is not relevant in history. The record book
shows Erik Guay was the best man on the day.
It was ironic that the question of start numbers came into the equation at all. Early in the week
during the World Championship super G and in training runs, the course had been brutal. It was
icy, it was rough, it was punishing. Punishing enough that the start order, which had numbered
79 racers for the first training run, had shrunk to 54 on race day. The personality of the course,
however, had undergone a Jekyll and Hyde transformation. It was still — in the words of top
American finisher Steven Nyman (13th) — a “real deal downhill,” long, tiring and tricky. But it
was no longer rock-hard and bone-rattling. Instead it was, said Cuche, “quite soft.”
“The first 40 seconds were very, very compact,” said Cuche, “but it wasn’t icy anywhere on
course, and where it was flat it was quite soft, and there were many tracks you had to ride
over.”
Cuche had won two World Cup downhills just before coming into the Championships, at Kitz-buehel and at Chamonix, both with runs some journalists had described as perfect. “Today
didn’t feel at all like either [Kitzbuehel or Chamonix],” he said, “probably because of all the
bumps. You really felt it in your legs.”
Erik Guay continued the Canadians’
winning tradition at Garmisch with his
downhill gold.
Downhill training went great for
Travis Ganong, who then smashed
his hand during the race.
