Lake Louise has a new destination: The Jan Hudec Ski Area.
Alpine Canada Athletic Director Robert Rousselle thinks it has a ring to it.
“He’s a guy with a lot of experience. They should rename the hill to his name. He can definitely perform here,” Rousselle said shortly after the Banff native blew away his detractors with a fourth-place finish in the men’s Super G World Cup race at Lake Louise on Sunday (Nov. 27).
Hudec was .74 seconds behind Norway’s Aksel Svindel, the eventual winner, and just a tenth of a second off the podium in finishing fourth. Switzerland’s Didier Cuche, 37, winner of Saturday’s downhill was second, while Adrien Theaux of France edged Hudec off the podium.
With only two weeks of on-snow training under his belt, a bad back and light pocketbook due to lost sponsorship dollars, Hudec took dead aim at the podium with a nearly flawless run. He recorded his last victory at Lake Louise in 2007 in the downhill and the 30-year-old showed he is still one of the nation’s fastest.
“I didn’t even see the time, but as soon as I came through the finish and heard the people screaming, I knew it was good,” Hudec said.
Even Svindel, who now has four podium finishes at Lake Louise, couldn’t get over the fact Hudec skied so fast with so little training
“That guy has not skied a lot in the last few years. He’s always injured. I skied with him this summer. He had back problems and could barely ski,” Svindel said. “With that amount of skiing, I would never be No. 4.”
Starting in 44th position in blustery conditions, Hudec held on through the top part of the bumpy track, aggressively attacking the turns under less than ideal conditions.
A small mistake on Claire’s Corner, where his ski slid into the soft snow, may have cost Hudec a medal, but he drew upon his teammate’s success. Watching Erik Guay lay down a solid run early on (he finished sixth) was enough for Hudec to raise his game.
“Before I went up for my run I was watching Erik with his dad on one of the TVs inside and he came down a second ahead. When you see something like that from a guy who struggled yesterday and came back the next day and just owned it like that, it boosts the morale of the whole team.”
It boosted Hudec, who knew he was faster than his teammate.
“Erik had an amazing run, but I knew I could beat him.”
While Hudec couldn’t ski much this summer, he did increase his cardio fitness, dropping a few pounds in the process. He soon discovered he wasn’t as far behind his teammates as originally thought.
“I rode the bike and got cardio fit. I’m the lightest I’ve ever come into a season, which isn’t the best for gliding, but I felt good on my skis and my turns and I think it turned out to my advantage this weekend.”
Guay was much improved in the Super G, but wasn’t sure why he was so fast one day, and so slow another, calling his skiing ‘upside down.’
“I’m a little frustrated because I like to have the answers. I need to spend more time with my thoughts and self and see what’s working,” Guay said.
There were skiers who questioned whether the race should have gone ahead, especially after a dangerous crash by Gauthier De Tessieres of France left him with a suspected torn ACL, however, Cuche dismissed such talk.
“I’ve skied in worse conditions.”
Other Canadian finishers included Ben Thomsen (27th) and Louis-Pierre Helie, who was one of three athletes that had their skis stolen on the weekend. Helie said the skis were stolen Sunday during the medal ceremony. He doesn’t expect to see them again.
Canadians Dustin Cook and Robbie Dixon didn’t finish.
Rousselle was happy with the all-around performance of the team.
“The guys came around (on Sunday). For Jan, the opportunity was there. He realized what he wanted to do. We missed the podium, too bad. Erik, we want him constantly in the top 10. He was part of the race today. He should be proud of what he did.”
Hudec and Guay both entered the season lighter than usual,
“It’s not like guys went from 200 to 150 lbs. They’re strong and agile. I don’t think they’re at a disadvantage if they lost weight. Their conditioning is increasing.”
The Women’s Lake Louise World Cup races begin on Friday (Dec. 3).
