Kriechmayr Claims Super-G Victory at Beaver Creek Amidst Weather delays & Interruptions
BEAVER CREEK, COLORADO – december 2, 2023 – Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria secured his 19th World Cup victory today in the super-G race at Beaver Creek, Colorado, a track where he first tasted World Cup success eight years ago in the same discipline. The race was considerably disrupted by strong winds, snowfall, and a lengthy delay caused by a fall from Swiss skier Franjo Von Allmen.
Kriechmayr finished with a time of 1’06″77. Norway’s Fredrik moeller finished second,just 56 hundredths of a second behind,while Austria’s Raphael haaser rounded out the podium at 1″03 back.
Dominik Paris led the Italian contingent in fourth place, 1″15 behind Kriechmayr. The result marked a reversal from last week’s Copper Mountain competition, where Marco Odermatt bested Kriechmayr; today, Odermatt finished fifth, 1″23 off the pace.
The race start was initially postponed by 45 minutes due to challenging weather conditions. A meaningful 30-minute interruption followed Von Allmen‘s fall, in which he broke a ski and impacted the safety netting. The subsequent track conditions, with fresh snowfall, proved challenging for several competitors.
Mattia Casse was the first racer to descend after the extended delay, struggling with visibility and accumulating a time 2″77 behind Kriechmayr. Guglielmo Bosca finished 21st, 2″57 back, followed by Innerhofer in 23rd at 2″94. Giovanni Franzoni achieved a strong tenth-place finish, 1.5 seconds behind the winner, despite starting with bib number 2.
An unusual incident occurred with Canadian skier Jeffrey Read, who lost a glove and pole after colliding with a gate, forcing him to abandon his run.The race was ultimately halted before the descent of Braathen (bib number 32), but the results were approved as final.