Craig Branch and AJ Bear have recorded exactly the same time to tie for 44th place in the Val Gardena World Cup downhill.
Craig Branch and AJ Bear have recorded exactly the same time to tie for 44th place in the Val Gardena World Cup downhill.
The pair covered the famed Saslong course in 1 minute 53.06 seconds, 2.47 seconds behind the time of race winner Max Rauffer of Germany.
It was Rauffer’s first World Cup victory and the first downhill win to a German man since Markus Wasmeier in 1992
Juergen Gruenenfelder of Switzerland was second and Johann Grugger of Austria third.
A day earlier, Branch had finished in 42nd place in the Val Gardena super G, but he had to do it hard, forced into a re-start after his initial run was aborted due to an accident on course ahead of him. He tells the story in his regular update:
The Super G ended up being a long day due to bit of carnage. Four or five people had some decent crashes in the bottom section of the course, hitting the nets and holding the race up a few times.
One of these crashes was the person before me. With two on course at a time, I was unfortunately flagged down and stopped two thirds of the way down. I did score a free helicopter ride back to the top of the course for my re-run but ended up having to start second last after the ordeal.
I skied well at the top of the course and was in 22nd place, I basically ran out of gas and lost too much time in the bottom section after having to race almost two full race runs. I finished in 42nd place, three seconds off the winner. The chopper ride was more fun than my last experience in a chopper. Funnily enough it was two years earlier at Val Gardena, but that time I was on my way to hospital in it!
The pair covered the famed Saslong course in 1 minute 53.06 seconds, 2.47 seconds behind the time of race winner Max Rauffer of Germany.
It was Rauffer’s first World Cup victory and the first downhill win to a German man since Markus Wasmeier in 1992
Juergen Gruenenfelder of Switzerland was second and Johann Grugger of Austria third.
A day earlier, Branch had finished in 42nd place in the Val Gardena super G, but he had to do it hard, forced into a re-start after his initial run was aborted due to an accident on course ahead of him. He tells the story in his regular update:
The Super G ended up being a long day due to bit of carnage. Four or five people had some decent crashes in the bottom section of the course, hitting the nets and holding the race up a few times.
One of these crashes was the person before me. With two on course at a time, I was unfortunately flagged down and stopped two thirds of the way down. I did score a free helicopter ride back to the top of the course for my re-run but ended up having to start second last after the ordeal.
I skied well at the top of the course and was in 22nd place, I basically ran out of gas and lost too much time in the bottom section after having to race almost two full race runs. I finished in 42nd place, three seconds off the winner. The chopper ride was more fun than my last experience in a chopper. Funnily enough it was two years earlier at Val Gardena, but that time I was on my way to hospital in it!
