With an all important top thirty finish in a World Cup up for grabs, Dougie Crawford has a realistic chance of making the criteria for the Sochi Olympics. After the slalom section of the Super Combined in Wengen, Crawford sits in ... 41st place, 7.41 seconds off the blistering pace set by Alexis Pinturault. More importantly, Crawford is 2.15 seconds off the time of Kevin Esteve (Andora) in the race for 30th spot. Crawford is a Downhiller and the last time the two raced in the same race was at the British Championships in Meribel. That time Crawford beat Esteve by 1.20 seconds on a much shorter course. The optimism is there. The stakes are high. Esteve will have the benefit of going one in the downhill, Crawford will go 41st.
There are other racers that could upset the apple cart but if ever a racer depended on a good run, now is the time for Crawford.
The race for the World Cup win may be between Pinturault (leading) and Ligety with the rest of the field some way off, Bode Miller is 3.43 seconds off but in 7th spot. The permutations are endless and numerous.
First run results