This season included a 1st and 2nd place in Kitzbuhel. Two were in Aspen after I had clinched the title at home in Whistler with a 2nd place finish. In 11 races that season I was out of the top ten 3 times. The European teams that we had been looking up to all those years were now peers, and we had the measure of what it took to win. “I had finished 2nd in the World Cup the year before and I was ready to move up. “Going into the 81 – 82 season was exciting,” remembers Steve. To add to the suspense, the struggle for the overall title would come down to the very last race of the season. As the season unfolded, it seemed clear this was headed towards a rematch of the previous season. Podborski was in good form and Weirather seemed determined to defend his overall title. Starting the 1981/82 season, the Canadians could surely smell victory. The Austrian prevailed with a very strong performance in the final race and Podborski finished 2nd overall. The 1980-81 downhill title came down to the very last race of the season between Podborski and Austria’s Harti Weirather. The very next season saw Steve Podborski finding his form with a string of podiums and consistent top 10 results. Ken Read had an excellent season in 1979-80 and came very close only to finish 2nd to Peter Mueller for the overall title. As the Canadian Team reached their pinnacle in the early 1980s, the prospect of an overall downhill title looked increasingly likely. Winning a World Cup Downhill race is one thing, but winning the World Cup Downhill overall title is the big prize. It was an unprecedented period in Canadian ski racing history, and may never happen again. Over a period of about 10 years the “Crazy Canucks” won a total of 39 World Cup podiums including 14 wins. Ken Read became the first to do so at Val D’Isere in 1975 and so began what would become the stuff of legend. Prior to 1975 no North American male had ever won a world cup downhill race. RBC Dominion Securities, in conjunction with Summerhill Entertainment Inc presents “The Best Downhill Racer”, documenting the rematch between Podborski vs Weirather on Friday November 30th, 2018 at the Historic Gayety Theatre.īetween 19 Canadians were dominant on the World Cup downhill circuit.
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