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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde wins first of three races in the World Cup tour in Wengen with Super-G triumph.
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Published 13/01/2023 at 14:23 GMT
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde displayed extreme power to dominate a challenging super-G event in Wengen - which took place on the longest course of the season. The Norwegian surpassed the times set by Swiss rivals Stefan Rogentin and Marco Odermatt - who had been the favourite to take victory as he holds top spot in the overall rankings. The downhill race and slalom are still to come over the weekend.
'How on earth does he do that?' - Kilde storms to brilliant Super G win at Wengen
Video credit: TNT Sports
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde put in a stunning performance to take victory in the super-G in the first of three races in the World Cup tour in Wengen.
On home snow, Swiss pair Stefan Rogentin and Marco Odermatt took second and third place respectively.
The Lauberhorn mountain presented racers with the longest super giant slalom course of the season, with the starting point higher than usual for these events.
Speaking ahead of the race, Kilde said it is a “flat start so you’ve really got to push out of there”.
The Norwegian obliged - going out as the last racer in the first group and going faster at every checkpoint than those who had come before.
Adrian Smiseth Sejersted of Norway was the first racer on the slopes and the treacherous nature of the course was obvious as he twice threatened to fall in the early stages of the run but kept his composure to set the first time of the day with 1:49:71.
Four-time World Cup downhill champion Beat Feuz set himself up for a potential fairytale finale in his last Super-G event as he found himself sitting in the leader’s chair following an impressive run down the course.
Just as the Eurosport commentary team discussed the bumpy conditions of the course, James Crawford felt the full effect as he lost control and crashed out.
Alexis Pinturault impressed on his first appearance in Wengen, but was unable to displace Feuz.
Speaking after the race, Pinturault said “this Super-G was not easy. It was going really straight.”
Mauro Caviezel announced before the race that he has been forced to retire from the sport due to injury, but he was present to watch his brother, Gino, take to the course. He looked poised to take the lead, but a mistake on approach to the finish line cost him top spot.
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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Team Norway takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Super G in Wengen, Switzerland.
Image credit: Getty Images
Switzerland’s Rogentin was the first racer to be able to oust his compatriot Feuz from the leader’s chair as he took the lead by over a second.
Odds on favourite Odermatt was looking for his third straight victory. Having been on the podium ten times in his last 13 races, it was expected that he would take the win, but an early error left him off the pace, and he finished behind his Swiss team-mate Rogentin. Odermatt does retain top spot in the overall tour standings, though.
2022 Olympic silver medallist Ryan Cochrane-Siegle found a personal best in the Super-G for the current season, but was unable to challenge for the podium.
As conditions started to deteriorate, it was over to Kilde to try and displace the Swiss dominance in their home event.
Even when he looked to have lost control at several points in his run, Kilde showed extraordinary power in his legs to bring him back on track and blitz down the course to finish with a time of 1:47:84 and take his second win of the season.
Speaking about his victory, Kilde said, “I tried to just keep momentum up. From start I just pushed as hard as I could.”
Asked how he would describe his dynamic performance, Kilde said, “On the limit. That’s how you have to do it in Super-G and sometimes it works, sometimes not.”
Kilde's partner Mikaela Shiffrin - who is equal to Lindsey Vonn’s record of 82 women's World Cup wins - took to Instagram to say Kilde was "so dang impressive".
The weekend action continues with the downhill race, before the slalom takes place on Sunday.
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