Feuz takes World Cup lead after joint victory

KVITFJELL, Norway - Reuters

Beat Feuz regained top spot in the race for the overall Alpine skiing World Cup when he finished joint first in a men’s Super-G in Kvitfjell on March 2.

The Swiss shared honors with Austria’s Klaus Kroell as both men clocked one minute and 32.35 seconds, increasing the suspense in the race for the overall title.

Out of sorts in recent weeks, Feuz, made the most of the absence of his two main rivals to lead Austria’s Marcel Hirscher by five points and Croatian Ivica Kostelic by 97.

Hirscher is not racing in Kvitfjell and injured Kostelic is not expected back in action before next weekend in Kranjska Gora.

That leaves Feuz, 24, two more races - downhill on March 3 and super-G on March 4 - to score points while his opponents are absent.

“After the downhill practice, this was totally unexpected,” said Feuz, who took advantage of an icier course than in previous days.

“It’s a big surprise but it’s a great one as it puts me back on course in both the overall World Cup and in the Super-G standings, he said after his fourth victory of the season.

Feuz and Kroell know the course well having both earned their first World Cup downhill victories on it in recent years.

“I don’t mind being joint first,” said Kroell. “You get the same number of points and the same bonus. This is a boost ahead of tomorrow’s downhill as the downhill World Cup remains my big goal.”

Kroell trails Didier Cuche by 26 points in the downhill standings Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud was third on his home track, 0.03 adrift.