Canada's men's Alpine skiers 'coming of age' ahead of anticipated Lake Louise return

The body language and chatter from athletes and coaches was enough for Phil McNichol to understand the importance of this week's return of racing to the Banff National Park ski resort in Lake Louise, Alta.

The lone Canadian stop on the Alpine World Cup circuit will host season-opening men's downhill events Friday and Saturday and super-G on Sunday after taking a season off during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the women's competition next weekend.

"You can tell they're really excited to do what they do in front of Canadians and at home," McNichol, in his second season as Alpine high performance director with Alpine Canada, told CBC Sports. "Growing up, the [Canadian] athletes have competed in North American Cup events and other events here, so there's a certain comfort level and Lake Louise has an even deeper calming effect, especially with first-race jitters.

"For the Europeans, they compete all year at home. This is a big trip for them to come to North America, do a couple of weeks of training and race. They're fired up to be back."

The absence of the popular Lake Louise event was not only felt in the local community from an economic perspective but challenging to a sport that fights to get noticed in North America in the best of times.

"I'm new to Alpine Canada and it's no secret we struggle to have the monetary means and support in such a small niche sport, even though we are a strong winter country," said McNichol, who previously worked with the U.S. men's Alpine team. "We need these [World Cup] events and have to be relevant in people's minds and eyes, so Lake Louise is important."

CBC Sports will provide live stream coverage at 2 p.m. ET Friday, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:15 p.m. ET. Also Saturday, Road to the Olympic Games, our weekly program spotlighting high performance athletes, will have television coverage at 2 p.m. ET.

For the first time, the International Ski Federation awarded Lake Louise a second downhill for the men's program, a format McNichol noted has been "effective" on the women's side for 12 years and should benefit Canada's skiers familiar with the run.

Thomas Dressen of Germany beat Italy's Dominik Paris by 2-100ths of a second in the men's downhill the last time it was contested at Lake Louise on Nov. 30, 2019.

Calgary's Jeff Read was the top Canadian in 46th, followed by Brodie Seger and Cam Alexander of North Vancouver, B.C., in 47th and 48th, respectively, while Toronto's Jack Crawford placed 57th.

Canadian men's coach John Kucera, who won the Lake Louise super-G in 2006, and McNichol are expecting improved results this weekend, given Seger and Crawford's breakthrough seasons last year, as the Canadians and others begin work for the chance to be named to their respective countries' Olympic teams for Beijing in February.

The 25-year-old Seger finished fourth in super-G at world championships last February, missing a bronze medal by 4-100ths in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Crawford, 24, also shone at the competition with a fourth-place performance in the alpine combined, a demanding discipline that requires athletes to be speed and technical experts. He is also 24th in the super-G world rankings.

WATCH | Seger just misses world championship podium:

At 27, speed specialist Broderick Thompson of Whistler, B.C., is the oldest men's team member. He was ninth in super-G at his debut worlds earlier this year after two years sidelined by injury and could break out this season, McNichol pointed out.