World Cup Kvitfjell - The history 1993-2022 (2007)

Aksel Lund Svindal arrived from Åre to the World Cup in Kvitfjell as world champion (Downhill and Giant Slalom). And for the first time the World Cup in Giant Slalom was organized in Kvitfjell.

By Stein B. Olsen and Svein Mundal

There were multiple cancellations earlier in the season, and the question of whether an extra race would be added was raised from FIS. The organizer and NSF wanted the Super
Combination, since this was an alpine discipline that had never before been arranged in Kvitfjell. The Super Combination was carried out on Friday, and of course it was interesting to see how the resort would work as a Slalom arena. The competition turned out to be exciting, in a slope that was quite tough.

- No doubt, the slope measure up, claimed Aksel Lund Svindal, who was on the podium in Kvitfjell for the very first time. He was beaten by Benjamin Raich and Silvan Zurbriggen. This was a very important win for Raich, since it affirmed his leading position in the total World Cup, above Didier Cuche and Aksel Lund Svindal.

The Downhill and the Super-G were organized on the two days following. Didier Cuche was on the podium in Kvitfjell for the first time in 1998. In the Downhill on Saturday, he finally succeeded taking another win. Aksel was a disappointment at number 11, though he was the second best Norwegian. A let down for the fresh World Champion from the Downhill in Åre. In fact, the best Norwegian turned out to be Lars Elton Myhre from Gjøvik, who didn’t just surprise himself, but everyone, by ending up at number 10.

On Sunday, Aksel Lund Svindal showed up for the Super-G, hungry for revenge. This wasn’t just about getting a good result, important points in the World Cup were also on the line. Benjamin Raich started before Aksel but went out. This was a golden opportunity to lessen the lead in the World Cup. But Aksel met the same destiny as the Austrian. He missed a gate and was out as well.

It belongs to the story that Aksel won the total World Cup for the first time 2 weeks later. After winning the final Downhill race, Super-G and Giant Slalom, he had to be among the 15 best racers in the final slalom race. And he ended up at precisely number 15. Talk about dramatic!

For the first time since the start in 1993, neither Lasse Kjus nor Kjetil André Aamodt competed in Kvitfjell. But both guys attended and gave sparks to the event as they always do. Kjetil Jansrud was forced to delay his debut in Kvitfjell. He was injured and contributed as an expert commentator for NRK.

RESULTS:
SC: Benjamin Raich (AUT) Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI) Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
DH: Didier Cuche (SUI) Erik Guay (CAN) Marco Büchel (LIE)
SG: Hans Grugger (AUT) Mario Scheiber (AUT) Didier Cuche (SUI)