‘Attacking viking’ Jansrud super-G favorite

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Kjetil Jansrud has not had much luck at World Championships, a sole silver medal in the combined from 2015 to his famous name. But the Norwegian will be big favorite for the super-G on Wednesday in St Moritz, having won three of the four races on the World Cup circuit this season. The reigning Olympic super-G gold medalist is having to take up the mantle of injured teammate Aksel Lund Svindal, out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. And he hasn’t disappointed, winning the Val d’Isere downhill and coming second at Garmisch, on top of his super-G successes. That podium finish at Garmisch held a more significant meaning after a disastrous weekend at kitzbuehel when Jansrud failed to fire down the testing Streif course. But the lead “attacking Viking” has form in St Moritz, finishing second in last season’s World Cup finals here and will have fine support in the form of younger teammate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. “There are some nice big jumps,” said Kilde after a first downhill training on Tuesday. “You have to get used to the jumps and know what’s coming. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes in coming races.” Austrian Hannes Reichelt, the reigning world champion, won the last speed event on the World Cup circuit, a second downhill in Garmisch, ahead of Italy’s Peter Fill and Switzerland’s Beat Feuz. He will be accompanied in the super-G by teammates Mathias Mayer, winner of the Kitzbuehel super-G, Max Franz and Vincent Kriechmayr, while Switzerland will be represented by Feuz, Carlo Janka and reigning world downhill champion Patrick Kueng. — AFP “I feel good. I like this slope and this snow,” said Kueng. “There are a lot of big jumps and they’re not easy, upper hill the slope is really good, but down it’s a bit soft.” Fill will line up alongside Dominik Paris, always a dangerous opponent. But Italian medal hopes were dealt a hammer blow with news that the in-form and versatile Christof Innerhofer, 2011 world super-G champion, had been ruled out for the rest of the season. Innerhofer finished second at the Kitzbuehel super-G, but he decided to call it a day after feeling pain in his lower leg in Garmisch. “It’s a sad day for me,” said Innerhofer. “I always take the maximum risk and never give up. But I have understood for the first time that it is senseless to start a ski race under these conditions.”