Ski Racing - February 13, 2012

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Erik Guay said after the
first downhill, “We knew
we could do better.”
Ben Thomsen had two
great finishes from the
50th start for Canada.

Bode Miller blasts through
the cold in Chamonix.

the hatches doing little things to
make us all faster. At Kitzbue-
hel we started getting results,
then last week at Garmisch
Erik just crushed it. We were so
close to the podium yesterday.
We knew we had to get it done.
We could smell it.”
“It was good,” said Guay, “but
we knew could do better.”
It was bitter cold the morning of
Saturday, Feb. 4, and a bright
sun rippled through the trees,
lining the track. It was the hard-
est surface the men had seen
all season, and it was a full-
length course (two-plus miles)
and the second of two back-to-
back races. Like the previous day, the course seemed
to get faster. Johan Clarey took the lead in bib No. 15,
only to have Cuche in bib No. 16 take it away. Beat
Feuz in bib No. 17 then did the same to Cuche. Kroell
ran 19th but where his skis had worked so well on Fri-
day, they failed him Saturday, and he lost time in a full
tuck down the “glide” portion of the course.

Guay, in bib No. 20, took the lead, but Baumann, in
bib No. 21, had built enough early course lead — de-
spite losing time in his tuck — to hold on and push
Guay to second.

Bode Miller attacked, as always, but was perhaps too hot on some of his lines, and faded off the pace. Then, in bib No. 24, Hudec kicked out of the start. He executed beautifully, set up for the glide and led by a half second at the road jump, about two-thirds of the way down the course.