(Montreal) Two standing super-G events were presented on Wednesday at the Steinach am Brenner World Cup and Alexis Guimond reached the podium in each of them. Bronze medalist at the start of the day, the para-alpine skier left everything on the Austrian slope to subsequently sign his first victory of the season.
Guimond had not won a World Cup super-G event since February 2018, when he triumphed in British Columbia before heading to PyeongChang in preparation for his first Paralympic Games.
On Wednesday, he stopped the clock at 1 min 7.20 s, which allowed him to beat Frenchman Arthur Bauchet by 17 hundredths of a second, then Swiss Robin Cuche by 33 hundredths.
A little earlier, the Quebecer was ranked third with a time of 1 min 8.08 s (0.46 seconds), behind Cuche, gold medalist, and Bauchet (0.08 seconds).
“My first race was a good performance, but I knew I could go for a little more! I pushed and tested my limits today (Wednesday), it was a great battle,” Alexis Guimond told Sportcom.
“I came here with the intention of winning,” he continued. I am very happy with my performance and this first victory. I didn’t leave anything on the trail! »
Last weekend, the Gatineau rider won bronze in downhill to open the 2023-2024 calendar. The next day, he improved his result by obtaining silver, still downhill. With his four medals collected in as many events this month, he says he is very motivated by Wednesday’s triumph and is counting on his consistency in the fight for the crystal globe.
“It’s important for me to stand out in several events. My main goal remains to simply perform well and offer my best skiing every race,” added Guimond.
After obtaining five bronze medals last year, Alexis Guimond finished the season strong by winning two gold medals in Italy, ending a five-year drought without a World Cup victory.
“It gives me a lot of confidence to win this early this year. Looks good! We keep a positive mind and we will continue to push for the future. »
On the women’s side, Frédérique Turgeon was unable to complete her first standing super-G descent.
She placed fifth in the second race of the day with a time of 1:15.95 (3.82 seconds). The Swede Ebba Aarsjoe won twice rather than once, always ahead of the French Marie Bochet and Aurélie Richard, in order.
The World Cup in Steinach am Brenner will resume on Thursday in giant slalom.