ALPINE:

Ontario's 6-foot-8 Halbert makes World Cup debut at Wengen

Jan. 14, 2011 — Alpine Canada     ♦ Photos: Kelby Halbert honed his craft with Alpine Ontario (photos courtesy Alpine Ontario) 

WENGEN, Switzerland ― Canada's tallest national team skier made his World Cup debut Friday on a hill with a giant reputation.

On a day when two other Canadians made the top 30 in the super-combined event, 6-foot-8 Kelby Halbert of Bradford, Ont., made a big impression of his own at the famed Wengen course, renowned for having the longest downhill track in the world.

Ryan Semple of Ottawa, Ont./Mont-Tremblant, Que., was the top Canadian in 23rd, with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.26 seconds. Dustin Cook of Lac Sainte Marie, Que., was 28th in 2:51.81.

Halbert, 21, didn't finish his second run, the slalom, but still enjoyed the experience.

"It's my first time in the big show. It's crazy," he said. "The stands are packed and everyone's cheering. I was pretty excited. I guess with any big race you are a little nervous. The last few years I've been trying to get to the Canadian speed team. Now that I've made it this is the next step."

Halbert finished the downhill in 46th place but "wasn't too happy" with how the slalom played out.

"I had a couple of big mistakes," he said. "I think I skied well in sections but in the important sections, I didn't ski well. I'm a little bit frustrated but my teammates did well to get into the top 30 today."

Paul Kristofic, Canada's head coach, said like any skier making the leap to World Cup races, Halbert faces a steep learning curve.

"He has a lot of potential but he has a ton of learning to do as well," said Kristofic. "He's just cutting his teeth, learning the courses and getting experience. He did a decent job."

Thanks to his height, Halbert struggles to keep a low profile at the best of times and it was no different on Friday.

"A lot of people are taking second looks at me," said Halbert, who added that he loves the famed Wengen course. "It's probably the coolest track I've ever skied."

Friday's super-combined was won by Croatia's Ivica Kostelic in a combined two-leg time of 2:40.44. It was his third victory in 12 days and extended his lead in the overall standings. Switzerland's Carlo Janka was second, followed by Aksel Lund Svindal, of Norway, in third.

Semple said the race organizers did a great job with the course in tough conditions but he wasn't happy with the way he skied.

"It was a bit of a challenge," he said, shortly after crossing the finish line. "I'm pretty disappointed, actually. I was pretty quick through the first couple of intervals ... I tried to move up as many places as I could."

Next up for the men's team is Saturday's downhill, followed by the slalom race on Sunday. Then it's off to Kitzbühel, Austria, for next weekend's World Cup races.

CBC is broadcasting Saturday's men's downhill race from Wengen starting at 5 p.m. ET. The women's giant slalom from Maribor will be screened Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

CBC Bold and cbc.ca will have live coverage of the men's downhill, starting at 6:25 a.m. ET Saturday. They will also show the first and second runs of the women's giant slalom race Saturday at 4:40 a.m. ET and 7:40 a.m. ET, respectively. S-Magazine