(Kitzbühel) James Crawford became the first Canadian in 42 years to win the descent test of the Kitzbühel Alpin World Cup on Saturday. He was accompanied on the podium of his compatriot Alexander Cameron, who finished third.
Posted at 7:29 a.m.
Wearing the number 20 bib and launched out after all the favorites, Crawford has ahead of Swiss Alexis Monny. The latter had quickly placed himself in the lead after being the fourth skier to descend. He was looking for his second career victory, a few weeks after having triumphed in Bormio, where the event will take place for the next Olympic Games next year.
But Crawford, world champion as a super-G title, created the surprise and entrenched eight thousandths of a second at the Chrono de Monnyery to sign his very first victory in the World Cup. Alexander granted him 22 thousandths.
Photo Giovanni Auletta, Associated Press
James Crawford (left) and Cameron Alexander were raised by the members of their team to highlight their presence on the podium.
“I have shown speed down before and I have the impression that I have been trying to find it for a while,” Crawford commented on an Austrian television channel.
-I have no words to describe emotions. It’s just incredible, and doing it in Kitzbühel is even better.
James Crawford
The last Canadian to have won this event is Todd Brooker in 1983, and the last time that two representatives of the unifolié rose on the same podium in the World Cup dates back to February 2012, when Jan Hudec won and that Drill Guay finished third in Chamonix.
The impressive result of the Canadian team occurred 10 days before the start of the world championships in another Austrian station, Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Crawford, in super-G, and Alexander, who won bronze downhill, put on medals at the last Worlds, two years ago in France.
Canada
