AUDI FIS Ski World Cup : Chamonix Les Houches - Downhill - 20 Feb 2016
Dominik Paris wins the Kandahar
A commanding and consistent performance in all stages of the race saw the Italian take a convincing victory on the Le Verte.
Steve Nyman of the USA took second with the Swiss, Beat Feuz just 4 hundreds of a second behind, in third place.
Chamonix's own Guillermo Fayed would be satisfied with 4th at any other event, but on his home piste, the missed opportunity of a first Downhill win will be a disappointment.
Chamonix's Blaise Gizendanner will be delighted with his 9th place, the highest of his career by some margin. His previous best was 20th at Santa Gardena in December 2015
The top 10 Chamonix 2016 Downhill:
| 1. | PARIS Dominik | (ITA) | 1:58.38 |
| 2. | NYMAN Steven | (USA) | 1:58.73 |
| 3. | FEUZ Beat | (SUI) | 1:58.77 |
| 4. | FAYED Guillermo | (FRA) | 1:59.18 |
| 5. | FILL Peter | (ITA) | 1:59.27 |
| 6. | THEAUX Adrien | (FRA) | 1:59.53 |
| 7. | OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel | (CAN) | 1:59.54 |
| 8. | GUAY Erik | (CAN) | 1:59.67 |
| 9. | GIEZENDANNER Blaise | (FRA) | 1:59.70 |
| 10. | REICHELT Hannes | (AUT) | 1:59.73 |
Guillermo Fayed's race goes downhill fast!
A poor start saw Guillermo well off the pace. By the end of the first sector (rank 21) his race was going downhill fast, but not fast enough! There was promise as the 31 year old went through the first way-point, he was beginning to recover. He put in very fast second (3) and third (2) sector times and had the soldier sustained this performance, he would have taken second and even had a chance at first, but the forth (15) sector was poor and the final (22) sector was the worst of Guillermo's race.
Despite a top speed of 130Km/h, Fayed's 4th place saw him finish 21.58 metres behind Dominik Paris.
The Future of AUDI FIS Ski World Cup in Chamonix
It might be 2021 before the Kandahar returns to Chamonix Les Houches. In 2014, when the AUDI FIS World Cup announced that the Kandahar was returning to Chamonix in 2016 there was optimism that the Kandahar would return to Chamonix every 2 or 3 years. However, the AUDI FIS World Cup has announced their event schedule, with venues, through to the 2018/19 season, and Chamonix Les Houches does not feature on that program.
There is a glimmer of hope of the horizon. In 2014, Chamonix appointed a new Director General of the Tourist Office. Nicolas Durochat is breathing new life into Chamonix with strategic partnerships that already benefit the commune. Within a few years these partnerships will return significant rewards providing an opportunity for Chamonix to invest in the infrastructure that the AUDI FIS Ski World Cup want to see at all their venues and not only for Alpine events.
In time, Chamonix will able to tender as the host for Snowboard, Freestyle, Cross Country and Nordic Combined events. Also, the return of the Ski-jump might be not be a leap too far.
Chamonix's World Class Competitors
With Fayed and Guizendanner blazing a trail for Chamonix, others are sure to follow, raising the appetite for World Class competition and returning Chamonix to its former status as premier event location.
By 2021, Guillermo will be 36 and we expect he won't be competing on the World Cup circuit, but Blaise will be 30.
Blaise Guizendanner will be aiming to win in Chamonix in 2021 !
