KVITFJELL, Austria (AP) — Vincent Kriechmayr kept alive the race for the men’s World Cup super-G title after the Austrian won the season’s penultimate event on Sunday.
Kriechmayr beat Canadian runner-up Jeffrey Read by 0.17 seconds and closed the gap in the discipline standings on leader Marco Odermatt to 81 points, with only the Austrian’s home race at the World Cup finals in Saalbach on March 22 outstanding.
Odermatt would have locked up the title Sunday with a first or second place, but the Swiss star shared third position with Italian racer Dominik Paris, trailing Kriechmayr by 0.19 seconds.
“I am very satisfied with my performance today, in Kvitfjell a lot can happen,” Odermatt said. “For sure, two-hundredths faster and it was all decided. But two-tenths slower and it was completely open again. So, I’m happy, and Vince has delivered.”
Odermatt extended his lead in the overall standings to a massive 918 points from Cyprien Sarrazin. The Frenchman sat out this weekend’s races with a calf injury.
Odermatt was on the podium in 14 of the last 15 super-G races and won the discipline title last season. He needs to finish 13th or better in the final race to win the globe again.
Kriechmayr didn’t fancy his chances of overtaking Odermatt next month.
“It’s only a theoretical chance. He won’t let this be taken away from him, with his class,” said Kriechmayr, who was the World Cup super-G champion in 2020-21.
Kriechmayr came wide in a turn and lost time halfway through his run but gained a decisive advantage on the bottom part of the course.
“Down there I raced pretty much on the limit,” the Austrian said. “I didn’t think I would lead after that mistake.”
It was the ninth career World Cup super-G victory for Kriechmayr, who also has nine downhill wins. Three years ago, he won gold in both disciplines at the world championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Kriechmayr finished runner-up in Saturday’s downhill on the same slope, which was won by Niels Hintermann. The Swiss racer finished 1.66 seconds off the lead in 48th and outside the World Cup points on Sunday.
Read earned his first career World Cup podium, a day after fellow Canadian Cameron Alexander finished third in the downhill. On Sunday, Alexander placed fifth.
“There’s been a lot of anticipation and desire for this. It’s a really good feeling,” Read said. “I was just very inspired by my teammate Cam yesterday. I just knew the skiing he was able to show yesterday was what I needed to do today.”
Italian skier Pietro Zazzi, a late starter with bib 50, impressed by finishing sixth, sharing his position with teammate Guglielmo Bosca.
The men’s World Cup heads to the United States next for two series of technical races – in Palisades Tahoe, California next weekend, and Aspen, Colorado on March 1-3.
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