|
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- World Cup overall champion Aksel Lund
Svindal of Norway crashed during downhill training Tuesday and was
hospitalized with a cut and bruised face and lacerated leg. Svindal apparently lost control on the lower section of the run.
He was removed from the course on a sled before being transported
to Vail Valley Medical Center, organizers said. In addition to the facial injuries, he had a 6-inch laceration
on the back of his left leg. No ligament damage or broken bones
were suspected. The training run was not televised and few people witnessed the
accident. Svindal won a super-G in Lake Louise, Alberta, on Sunday to
reclaim the lead in the overall standings. He was 17th in the
season's only other downhill, at Lake Louise on Saturday. He won
the season-opening giant slalom at Soelden, Austria. Scarce snow forced race organizers to artificially produce a lot
of the snow covering the Birds Of Prey course. The layer covering
the course is relatively thin, meaning the terrain is particularly
bumpy and rolling. Switzerland's Didier Cuche said that part of the course was
particularly tricky this year. "It's really short and pushing you down really hard," he said.
"You have some bumps in the compression and five meters after that
you jump out the compression and that could be really dangerous. If
you make an edge mistake there, you're going to fly but not in the
right way."
|
