ALPINE:

Erik Read savors ‘stepping stone’ debut at Schladming

Jan. 25, 2011 — The Canadian Press

SCHLADMING, Austria — The torch was passed when Erik Read made his World Cup debut Tuesday on the same mountain where his famous father won a downhill race more than 30 years ago.

Read skied off the course in the first run in the famous night slalom at Schladming, Austria. The 19-year-old had barely stepped out of his skis in the finish area when he was handed a cell phone. His dad, Ken, the former Crazy Canuck, was on the other end.

"He said I looked like I was skiing all right,'' Erik Read said in a interview from the finish. "He said just have some fun now.''

Back in Calgary, Ken Read kept tabs by watching live timing results on the Internet.

"It was kind of cool,'' the father said of his son's first race. "It's all about gaining experience and making sure the experience is a good, positive stepping stone.''

The first World Cup can be a nerve-fraying event for any skier. In Erik Read's case, throw in 60,000 flag-waving fans jammed along the Planai course, then add some family history.

"It was pretty awesome,'' said Erik Read. "I was super-excited.

"I still was able to focus for my run. I was just soaking it all up and enjoying it.''

Knowing it was a course where his father had won a race added to the thrill.

"It was a special time,'' he said. "I'm going to keep the bib and treasure it.''

Read earned the right to compete at Schladming by finishing ahead of other skiers in a group of Canadian prospects at a race in Westendorf, Austria, last week. He admitted butterflies where swirling prior to the start of Tuesday's slalom.

"In the start gate I was a little nervous,'' he said. "Once I got on (the course) I was surprisingly relaxed.

"I was able to focus on what I need to do. I had to change my tactics a little with the groove in the course.''

The race was won by France's Jean-Baptiste Grange in a two-run combined time of one minute 46.54 seconds. Sweden's Andre Myhrer was second in 1:46.58 while countryman Mattias Hargin finished third in 1:47.14

Mike Janyk of Whistler, B.C., had the best Canadian result, finishing 14th.

Read started 76th in the first run. By then the course had been chewed up by the previous racers. He skied off when he hit a rut at a gate near the bottom of the course.

"My legs were getting tired,'' he said. "I got chucked out.''

Ken Read said he didn't finish his first World Cup race either.

"You want to go in this and gain something,'' he said. "To me, it's his experience. It's him learning and building from it.''

During his career, Read recorded 14 World Cup podium finishes in downhill, including five wins.

Erik Read will now move on to the world junior championships, which starts this weekend in Crans Montana, Switzerland. He will compete in the downhill, super-giant slalom, giant slalom and slalom. S-Magazine