First the good news. If you were looking for some pre-Olympic inspiration, it was on clear display at Lake Louise during the alpine World Cup races.

The Canadian Cowboys pushed aside a mediocre downhill performance (John Kucera sixth, Robbie Dixon seventh) to catapult into the super-G limelight, with three Canucks in the top five finishers. Manny O.P. claimed his first-ever super-G (his previous best was 13th in Val Gardena in 2008), Click here to read the SRC story online.
Erik Guay continued to find his mojo, finishing a respectable fourth, and Robbie Dixon proved that he no longer belongs in the "dark horse" category by finishing fifth. Almost more impressive is that the group appeared to have the confidence for even better.

Now onto the bad news. Kucera, the reigning downhill world champion, suffered a broken leg after falling on the Gun Barrel section of the Lake Louise super-G course. At first the crash, out of view of television cameras, seemed innocent, but a collision with the safety netting caused the injury.

Sadly, the bad outweighs the good in this situation. Kucera is a three-event threat for Canada (downhill, super-G and giant slalom) and the most consistent performer on the World Cup. Seeing the helicopter airlift Kucera from the Gun Barrel was not a pleasant site for fans, media or his teammates. This will be a serious blow to this strong men's team.

When Didier Cuche claimed his 11th career victory in Lake Louise on Saturday, he became the oldest ever winner of a World Cup downhill. At 35, the soft-spoken Swiss star won his second race of the season after claiming the opening giant slalom in Sölden.

But even with his fourth Olympics looming on the horizon - his best opportunity to reach legendary status in the sport - Cuche claims 2010 is not on his mind.

 
Didier Cuche has plenty of tricks up his ski racing sleeve. Check out this from YouTube.

LAKE LOUISE Headlines
Manny wins, but Canada loses Kucera
Kucera rushed to hospital after crash
Cuche tops, Kucera 6th in downhill