Switzerland’s Feuz wins emotional World Cup downhill in Lake Louise

LAKE LOUISE, Alta. — Beat Feuz of Switzerland won the seasonopening men’s World Cup downhill Saturday when the men’s ski racing community also remembered one of their own.

As a tribute to French skier David Poisson, who died Nov. 13 in a training accident in Alberta, the men wore heart-shaped stickers with his initials on their helmets and their race bibs bore his name.

“I’m really happy to see that the whole ski family stood together and also that the French team participated today,” Feuz said.

RCMP said Poisson, 35, died of his injuries after losing an edge and crashing through safety netting into a tree at Nakiska ski resort west of Calgary.

The French raced Saturday with their teammate’s name across their chests. Adrien Theaux posted the French team’s best result in seventh and declined to be interviewed.

“It’s definitely really emotional for the French, but we needed to get to ski racing,” Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis said.

“It’s just a shame and it’s too bad that happened in our sport. It’s happened before and we all know the risk.”

Feuz is the reigning world downhill champion. He edged out Canada’s Erik Guay for gold in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in February.

With a time of one minute 43.76 seconds Saturday, Feuz beat runner-up Matthias Mayer of Austria by less than a tenth of a second. Svindal was just over threetenths behind Feuz in third.

Italy’s Peter Fill, winner of World Cup downhill titles the last two seasons, was .52 back of Feuz in fourth.

Vancouver’s Osborne-Paradis was the top Canadian in 20th. Guay withdrew from the downhill because of tightness in his back that worsened in training Friday.

Broderick Thompson of Whistler was 23rd, Calgary Tyler Werry placed 34th, Ben Thomsen of Invermere finished 41st and Toronto’s Jack Crawford was 63rd in a field of 74 racers.