{"id":15270,"date":"2023-11-28T14:51:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T21:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcworldcup.com\/?p=15270"},"modified":"2023-11-29T15:38:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T22:38:50","slug":"kilde-opens-23-xfinity-birds-of-prey-with-fastest-downhill-training-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bcworldcup.com\/kilde-opens-23-xfinity-birds-of-prey-with-fastest-downhill-training-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilde opens ’23 Xfinity Birds of Prey with fastest downhill training run"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Cheryl Lindstrom<\/p>\n
The 2023 Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup got underway Tuesday with the first downhill training run, won by Norway\u2019s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the defending downhill champion on this course. Kilde\u2019s time of 1:39.68 was .23 seconds ahead of Cyprien Sarrazin of France. The men are preparing for their first speed race of the season \u2500 previous attempts in Zermatt, Switzerland, earlier in November, were canceled due to poor weather conditions.<\/p>\n
The race week features downhill training Tuesday, November 28 and Wednesday, November 29 (the provisional training run scheduled for Thursday has been canceled), followed by two downhill races scheduled for Friday, December 1, and Saturday, December 2. A super G race on Sunday, December 3, closes out the annual test of the world\u2019s best male Alpine ski racers in the speed disciplines. The Birds of Prey course on Beaver Creek Mountain was first used in 1997, and has since been the site of 69 men\u2019s World Cup and eight World Championship races across all Alpine disciplines.<\/p>\n
Kilde comes into Beaver Creek having won the last four consecutive races on this course, dating back to 2021. Should he win the opening race of the weekend, he would be the first racer to take five wins in a row on the Birds of Prey course.<\/p>\n