Calgary native John Kucera celebrates his first career World Cup victory on the famed Lake Louise course he grew up racing on. (Chuck Stoody/Canadian Press)
Prior to Sunday's surprising victory during the season-opening super-G event in Lake Louise, Alta., John Kucera had never finished in the Top 10 of any World Cup event.
The 22-year-old Calgary native's best showing had been a 12th-place finish at the combined competition in Wengen, Switzerland, last season.
Yet Kucera, whose victory has been described as "shocking," gave a glimpse into his potential when he boldly divulged his career ambition as a lightly regarded 21-year-old sophomore skier on the Canadian national team.
"I want to be an elite ski racer," Kucera categorically told the Calgary Herald at the beginning of the 2005-06 alpine season.
Still, few thought Kucera would become the first Canadian man to win a World Cup race on the Lake Louise course in just his third full year with the national team.
The only other Canadian man to win on home soil was Rob Boyd, who captured a 1989 downhill event in Whistler, B.C.
"I was telling all my friends if I could win any race it would be the one at home," a joyful Kucera told CBC Sports. "It came true, I guess."
Kucera looked anything but green in front of friends and family, cutting through the chilly Alberta air with the ease of a veteran to finish 6/100th of a second ahead of Austria's Mario Scheiber.
"Johnny's been really hot in training," former ski great and Alpine Canada CEO Ken Read told CBC Sports shortly after Kucera's win. "The reports coming back are that he's been skiing really well."
Ever the optimist, Read is on a short list of people not surprised by Kucera's sudden success. Maybe it's because the former member of the famed Crazy Canucks knows the roots of this young skier's career better than most.Skiing at 18 months
The son of immigrant parents from the Czech Republic, Kucera grew up on a ski hill only 183 kilometres east of Lake Louise. As a toddler, Kucera began skiing at 18 months and was already racing 3 1/2 years later.Kucera honed his talents at the Calgary Alpine Racing Club and made steady improvement as a teenager, earning a spot on the national team in 2004 at the tender age of 20.
The Calgarian made his World Cup debut that year, finishing 37th in the downhill, at the same Lake Louise course where his greatest triumph took place only days ago.
Kucera cut through the chilly Alberta air with the ease of a veteran to finish sixth one hundredths of a second ahead of Austria's Mario Scheiber. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
Though the rest of the season offered little in the way of results, Kucera would put the rest of his Canadian teammates on notice the following year.
Kucera participated at the 2006 Torino Winter Games last February, failing to land a Top 10 finish in any of the events he entered. However, the experience helped him stage a remarkable display of power and speed at the Canadian national championships one month later.
It was on the hills of Whistler, B.C., where Kucera won both the super-G and giant slalom events, with the latter competition opening the eyes of the Canadian ski team. Kucera demolished the rest of the field, finishing almost 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Michael Janyk and long-time veteran Thomas Grandi.
The strong end to the 2005-06 season led to an even better showing during the team's summer sessions, propelling Kucera to his first career World Cup win on Sunday.
"It just confirms what we thought," said Kucera. "We knew we were fast in all the summer training programs."
Tribute to a friend and coach
The victory was also an emotional one for Kucera, who dedicated the race to Jason Lapierre, a friend and former coach killed by a car while riding his bike this past summer."I lost a really good friend," Kucera said after the race. "I just wish he could be here with me to see this."
Kucera's win, combined with Vancouver native Manuel Osborne-Paradis's silver in the downhill on Saturday, should give Alpine Canada a big boost for the rest of the season and beyond.
The Canadian team, which failed to win a medal at the Torino Games, can use momentum as it begins to focus on the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
"Alpine is one of the sports that must deliver medals in 2010 if Canada expects to finish first in the medal count," concluded Read.
A possibility enhanced by Kucera's sudden emergence.
QUICK FACTS
Born: Sept. 17, 1984
Birthplace: Calgary
Hometown: Calgary
Height: 5'8" / 1.73 m
Weight: 176 lb. / 80 kg
Canadian team member since: 2004
CBC Stories
- Calgarian Kucera skis to gold
- Nov. 26, 2006
- Brackgrounder: 2006-07 Alpine skiing season
- Nov. 10, 2006
- Q and A: Ken Read
- Nov. 9, 2006
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