Flying Finn

Palander targets slalom gold

ST MORITZ, Switzerland (Reuters) -- When Kalle Palander raced into the history books by becoming the first Finn to win a World Cup Alpine skiing race, not a single Finnish journalist was there to record the feat.

Nor were any there to witness his back-to-back victory at Schladming just two days after his maiden win in the classic Hahnenkamm slalom at Kitzbuehel last month.

But a gaggle of Finnish journalists have now deserted the Nordic country's traditional sports of ski jumping and ice hockey and travelled to Switzerland for the world championships in the hope of witnessing another golden performance.

Palander is not only flat Finland's first winner of a World Cup race, but also their first world champion. He burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old, capturing gold at the 1999 championships in Vail.

Buoyed by his top performances this season on the toughest courses -- namely his wins at Kitzbuehel and Schladming and a fourth place at Wengen -- the 25-year-old is an overwhelming favorite for a medal in Sunday's slalom.

Palander has set his sights high for Sunday. He is brimming with confidence in second place in the World Cup slalom standings and is fresh from what he says was his best training ever in Westendorf, Austria, last week.

"I've never skied so beautifully. It was a surprise for me because normally I'm always skiing bad just before the world championships," the Finn said.

"Every year I had the same problem and that is that I'm skiing rubbish in this month. But actually this year, I don't know why but it's really been too good," he added.

Ferocious form

He is aware that his ferocious form of late has raised expectations of a second world crown in the most technical of Alpine skiing's disciplines.

"Of course within a few weeks these people are crazy -- if you win one race then you must win everything after that. People are expecting that of me for sure," he said.

"But nobody can put me under pressure because I'm always the one putting the pressure on myself."

The spotlight is even more on Palander here after Finland's other high-profile racer, giant slalom specialist Sami Uotila, is missing due to injury. Uotila fractured his tibia in the very last training run before the championships.

Uotila's World Cup season is over and he will be on crutches for up to eight weeks.

Palander is wishing for bad weather for Sunday's race rather than the glorious sun beating out of a cloudless sky that has accompanied the last few events.

"I want wind and water and snow and clouds like in my hometown of Tornio. I like this kind of weather and know that the other guys can't handle it," he said.

The leading contenders for a medal include World Cup champion Ivica Kostelic, all rounder Bode Miller, Rainer Schoenfelder and Olympic champion Jean-Pierre Vidal.

"My goal is top three for sure. I don't want to be fourth as that's the loser's place. I was always doing that this year so hopefully I'm not fourth -- it's better to be fifth."

 

Related information

Stories

Palander wins twice in row before worlds Bode Miller wins giant slalom gold medal

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.