Clarey left with nothing after high wind causes race cancellation
Johan Clarey was moments away from his maiden World Cup win when the decision was made to cancel the Downhill in Val Gardena. It was a very hard decision for the French racer who has twice been on the podium in the World Cup but never won. The decision to cancel the race was announced by Günter Hujara after consultation with his jury along the course. Over the Camel jumps the wind was inconsistent and with safety a major part of the decision, there was no other option the organisers felt.
With 21 racers down and the rules stating either 30 racers or 50 per cent of the field to have started for the race to be valid, this was hard on the Frenchman. “I was lucky on the track but it is not the first time that there is so much wind on the course. It was not dangerous for the guys at the top. I do not know what to say I am just so disappointed right now. It will take a long time for me to accept this. It is not very fair,” explained Clarey after the decision was made.
Head race manager, Rainer Salzgeber spoke after the race: “It was a curious situation for a couple of reasons: for those in the top group they had to ski in really bad conditions and then they cancelled it when it was better. The question mark is the guy at the Camel Jumps and that is Hujara; he said that it was so windy that it was dangerous. I ask myself why was it not dangerous until number 21?
I feel really sorry for Johan, it would have been nice especially in France but that is life; that is sport. For those guys who are at the back, like Cuche, he had no chance at all but that is not a sport at all. What I believe is that if you have 21 racers in the finish and then stop and have better conditions before 22 for me it is a little bit strange.”
Asked whether it was the right or the wrong decision, Aksel Lund Svindal responded “It depends on where you are asking from: From safety, depends how the wind was at the Camels, when I went the wind was OK. The rest of the jumps are not very big.” Svindal went on to say that it “was a lottery, you have to ski good but with the high numbers you have no chance. When a guy like Didier (Cuche) is that far behind it says everything!
Cuche could not understand why the race was stopped and said “You do not know when it will be good after you have stopped the race. Why is he (Hujara) waiting now and not before number one?” As for his run, Cuche felt that is was a pretty ok run, he admitted afterwards.
For the winner of both training runs, Hans Olsson, his early start number was not what he really wanted as he “just wanted a fair race. When the snow comes I would have hoped for a higher number. Now I am in sixth and that is OK but I wanted to win,” he explained. “I think I skied really well and did what I could. It has been a big experience for me to come into the race as a favourite, I have learned a lot. I am pretty soft on my skis and do not push that hard as many others. When I skied today I was almost singing the whole way down! I am more of a cruiser than a killer some would say!
When a win is controversially taken away it is hard but other brands of ski, there is the get out of jail free card. Rudi Huber, the race manager from Atomic, explained that “to have a fair race, maybe it was the right decision, but for some racers who made a good run, it was not the right decision. We would like to have a race but on the other hand when it is not a fair race; it is not a good race. It was a hard decision anyway.”
For Erik Guay, sitting in fourth at the time the race was called, it is not often that he disagrees with the race organisers but this was one time: “The decision that I heard was that it was dangerous. That is not right, you did not see any guy go off backwards but it is never fair. It is not fair at Lake Louise, it was not fair at Beaver Creek, there is always wind, it is an outdoor sport. I am a little bit pissed off but I cannot imagine how pissed off the French guys must be with 1, 2 and 5! Most of the time I agree with Günter’s decision but not this particular one.”
With the announcement having been made and the racers, jury and coaches all coming down the slope, the irate French team asked Gunter Hujara what the reason was for the cancellation. Luckily for Hujara, the safety fence at the bottom separated the two factions. Hujara spoke after the race to explain the decision to cancel: “I fully understand the emotions of those who were in the lead but I also have to think about those who had luck as we had very difficult decisions with the wind and even in the moment when we restarted and had the last racer in the start ready for the start, the conditions were so quick in changing that we could not tell what the conditions were and that is why we had to cancel the race.
“The race was at the edge of being still safe,” he continued, “we did not like to risk anything and that is why we cancelled before we had a bad fall.” Hujara was then asked how much time they could have waited before making the final call to cancel: “You are down here and not up there. If you had been up there, your thinking would have been completely different. With every jury decision there are some that go with you and some that go against you. FIS are in the middle of a rock and a hard patch with this decision: Had they gone on and there had been a major crash then they would have been in the wrong and because they cancelled before this happened, they are also in the wrong.
No result, positions at time of cancellation (after 21 racers)
1. Johan Clarey (FRA)
2. Adrien Theaux (FRA)
3. Patrick Kueng (SUI)
