Canada's Broderick Thompson skis to 3rd in second downhill training run
Whistler, B.C., native completes training session with time of 1:43.92
On their second trip down a previously unknown Olympic hill, the world's top skiers had to deal with strong winds.
Canadian Broderick Thompson posted the third fastest time on the unfamiliar slopes.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde handled it the best, posting the fastest time Friday in the second men's downhill training session of the Beijing Games.
The Norwegian, who leads the World Cup downhill standings, had a time of one minute 43.72 seconds through gusts of winds as the skiers tested the Rock course for the second time.
"You could have had a race today, as you saw we skied, but it would have certainly been a lottery in a day like today," Italian skier Christof Innerhofer said after finishing 0.57 seconds behind Kilde. "There were really strong wind gusts. Then it changed a bit. You need a bit of luck. But I don't think about that, because just luck won't be enough."
Max Franz of Austria was second fastest, 0.06 seconds behind Kilde, and Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was third, 0.20 behind.
WATCH | Canada' Thompson finishes training session with 3rd-best time:
Thompson, 27, skied to his first World Cup podium earlier this season in Beaver Creek, Colo., and has established himself as a challenger every race. Fellow Canadian and Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus, Jack Crawford finished 11th, 0.59 seconds back of Kilde's lead.
You can discuss the wind for the next 10 days. It probably won't be the fairest race.— Swiss skier Marco Odermatt
The start of Friday's session was delayed for an hour because of the wind.
Kilde's main challengers for the gold medal are expected to be Swiss skiers Beat Feuz and Marco Odermatt, the overall World Cup leader. Feuz was 0.58 slower than Kilde. Odermatt was more than two seconds off the pace.
"I wasn't fast. Probably I haven't found the best setup yet but for sure the wind is playing a big role," Odermatt said. "You can discuss the wind for the next 10 days. It probably won't be the fairest race.
Brodie Seger became the first racer not to finish the course after crashing on a turn. The Canadian spun around and slid down the slope, grazing the safety nets, but avoided serious injury.
"I'm feeling lucky. My thumb is a little bit sore but that's it. I can ski with that," Seger, from North Vancouver, B.C., said. "It was definitely unnerving when I was heading toward the fence sliding.
All 56 racers successfully made it down the slope during Thursday's opening training session. That was the first time that the world's best skiers got a chance to see the Rock course up close because test events were cancelled over the last two years amid the pandemic.
There will be one more training session on Saturday before the men's downhill opens the Alpine competition the following day.
With files from Benjamin Steiner, CBC Sports
