Nov 29, 2019; Lake Louise, Alberta, CAN; Thomas Dressen of Germany finishes his run during downhill training for the Lake Louise FIS Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup at Lake Louise Ski Resort. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
(Reuters) – German Thomas Dressen made a triumphant return to North America by winning the men’s World Cup downhill in Alberta on Saturday, a year after suffering a serious knee injury in a high-speed crash.
Dressen timed his run perfectly in the opening race of the season on the fast Lake Louise course in the Canadian Rockies.
He was behind at all five time checks, before scorching over the final part of the course to stop the clock in one minute 46.81 seconds to pip Italian Dominik Paris by 0.02 seconds. Swiss duo Carlo Janka and Beat Feuz tied for third, 0.26 behind the winner.
Dressen, 26, won two World Cup downhills early last year, including the famous Kitzbuehel run in Austria.
But his 2018-19 season ended when he suffered torn knee ligaments and a dislocated shoulder in a heavy crash in Beaver Creek, Colorado almost exactly a year ago.
Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina editing by Ed Osmond