Svindal wins a World Cup downhill, leads overall standings

Svindal, who was second in yesterday’s Alpine Combined World Cup in Wengen, was forced to ski through the fog as it set in but it had little impact on his descent.

Svindal got 80 World Cup points and trails 85 points behind overall standings leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who typically skips speed events.

That was won by Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud ahead of countryman Aksel Lund Svindal and Frenchman Adrien Théaux.

The following season, the Scandinavian skier would continue to impress, triumphing in six events, including on the renowned Strief slope in Kitzbühel, and clinching a silver medal in the super combined at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Beaver Creek (USA).

Still, it was far from easy after the sunshine highlighting a fast racing line for No. 4 starter Kroell was long gone when the top two finishers overcame poor visibility as Nos. Svindal can take the lead on Saturday when he starts as favorite for the classic Lauberhorn downhill.

The overall champion in 2007 and 2009, he now has 816 points to 801 for Hirscher, but the Austrian will likely rebound with the Wengen slalom on Sunday.

Jansrud had no hope on Saturday, starting No. 22 after a 15-minute delay for fog. Jansrud finished 2.13 back and was visibly frustrated in the finish area. Svindal and Reichelt raced Nos.

“Today was really a tough race”.

“What we are doing in the World Cup this year is quite wonderful”, said Jansrud, who combined with slalom specialist Henrik Kristoffersen last season to claim a national record 11 race wins. You also need your share of luck and today that is what I had. “Before the race started, (runner-up) is something I would have been very happy with”.