Encore for Carole Montillet!

France’s Carole Montillet deserves more than ever the nickname “Miss Lake Louise” given to her by some of her rivals as she won her second World Cup downhill in successive days. It was also her sixth on the World Cup Tour since February 2001, and her third here!
The 30-year-old Olympic Champion charged the course with her usual determination to overtake Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister, the defending downhill World Cup champion in 2003, by 12/100 of a second. Another Austrian, Renate Goetschl, a three time winner here in the 1990’s, was third. The trio formed quite an impressive group of gold medals winners on the podium - Dorfmeister won the downhill title in 2001 and Goetschl in 1999!
5th podium for Carole!
It was the fifth consecutive race in which Montillet had finished on the podium at this Canadian resort, and her first double win ever. But she was not the only hero cheered by the Canadian crowd who was also delighted by the superb 4th place taken by Emily Brydon who achieved a nice comeback after her disappointing performance from the previous day.
Germany’s Hilde Gerg, 2nd on Friday, moved down to 5th place and USA’s Kirsten Clark, 3rd in the first race, was a far 14th. On the contrary, Italy’s Isolde Kostner, a four-time winner here, moved up into 11th place after ending 29th a day earlier. Last year the two-time Super-G World Champion suffered a bad concussion here after a crash in training.
Her teammate Barbara Kleon was a surprising 6th after starting in 53rd position. She became the “Winstar” of the race with this performance.
Germany’s Martina Ertl scored that World Cup points with her 26th place but not enough to get close to Anja Paerson in the Overall standings. She was passed by Montillet who aims now to take the lead after the Super-G!
Montillet had no problems to remain relaxed and concentrated during the numerous delays which took place because of difficult weather conditions. Volatile Rocky Mountain weather fronts blew two snowstorms through the region, changing the scene from total white-out to a sky blue heaven in a matter of minutes. Conditions forced a delay of more than two hours before race organizers were able to begin the competition from a lower start hut.
“The delay was not a problem for experienced racers” said Montillet. “I know the race is only canceled when the jury says so. I felt confident but I was not so sure that we will compete today. It was a good decision to wait because the course was perfect afterwards. It’s a great win for me”.

Dorfmeister in progress

It’s only the third time in her career that Michaela Dorfmeister reached the podium here. She switched back to her old ski boots after a disappointing 18th place in Friday's downhill and the move paid dividends. “It’s a tough hill for me because I often have problem to find my best form so early in the season” she said. “I had a very good feeling yesterday but I tried new boots and the combination did not work. Today I went with my old boots and you see it on the board, it was very fast" she added. Last winter it took me much longer to get back in shape – and I did well with a Super-G gold medal in St Moritz and the downhill World Cup title. Carole is very strong right now, but the season is still long!”
Her teammate Renate Goetschl, also 2nd last year here, is still feeling the effects of surgery earlier this year on the knee she injured two seasons ago. Yet she was pleased by her result. “My knee is getting better and better” she said. “I'm very happy to get back on the podium. I knew I didn’t forget my technique yesterday. I have enough experience to remain quiet and confident even when the results are not so good”.

A good day for Canada

Emily Brydon gave the small crowd a boost when she finished fourth, the best result at home by a Canadian woman since Melanie Turgeon was fourth in 2001. The reigning downhill world champion, did not compete on Saturday because of a back injury. Her mother was one of the first to congratulate her. “It was difficult for Emily yesterday because she never experienced this situation at that level – to be the favorite for a World Cup downhill” she said. “But today she proved how tough she is! It’s great for us.”
Emily achieved her best World Cup performance since finishing 3rd in a downhill in St Moritz three years ago, two months before suffering a serious knee injury during the World downhill in St Anton. “I know now that I’m back” she smiled. “The run wasn’t error-free, but I nailed the areas where I made mistakes yesterday. I was more relaxed today and I had a good game plan and stuck to it. It was an important lesson that I learned yesterday. I’m looking forward for a great season now!”
With three skiers in the points, the Canadian had a good day as Great-Britain’s Chimene Alcott, 22nd for the second day in a row. It’s by far the best British result in downhill since the 1970’s when skiers as Divina Galica and Gina Hathorn reached some top-10 in World Cup downhills. Last month, the charming blond also finished in the points in Soelden’s giant slalom.

Patrick Lang