LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis claimed the first super-giant slalom victory of his career Sunday at Lake Louise.
Osborne-Paradis, who resides in Invermere, B.C., flew down the course in a time of one minute 32.93 seconds to pick up the win.
"Wow. Did anybody else expect this? Because I didn't," he told reporters after the race, chuckling.
"I just pushed it. I made lots of mistakes but I made sure the skis were always running cleanly and down the fault line and it worked out. It worked out really well."
Osborne-Paradis wasn't the only Canadian happy with his work on this day.
Mont-Tremblant, Que., resident Erik Guay finished fourth in a time of 1:33.68.
Teammate Robbie Dixon of Whistler, B.C., was fifth in 1:33.72.
"I've been working on my technique a lot. I've been working on small things. It's been getting better and better and I think the confidence is going with it," Guay said after the race.
"I just stuck with it and fought until the end and I came away with fifth," Dixon told reporters after his run. "I'm just so stoked right now."
While having three Canadians in the top five was a welcome result for Canuck ski officials, the news wasn't all good.
Calgary's John Kucera, who won the downhill event at the world championships last season, had to be airlifted off the course after crashing during his run.
The severity of Kucera's injury wasn't immediately known but Alpine Canada spokesman Max Gartner said it was a leg injury and it appeared to be "serious."
