LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - After being almost unbeatable on the ski course John Kucera nearly lost a battle with a bottle of champagne Sunday while celebrating his second-place finish in the opening super-giant slalom race of the World Cup season.
Kucera wrestled unsuccessfully trying to open the bottle and finally needed the side of a ski to help him pop the cork on the bubbly.
Returning to the podium after a frustrating season of near misses last year was a relief for the Calgary native. Finishing behind race winner Hermann Maier, Kucera's childhood idol, made the champagne taste a little sweeter.
"It's weird when you look over and your childhood hero is standing next to you," said Kucera, shouting over the cheers of a loud, home-town crowd. "Next time I hope to beat him because I don't want to stand below him any more."
Maier won the race in one minute 29.84 seconds. It was the 54th World Cup victory of his career, but the first since winning a downhill at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 2006.
The victory was a return to glory for Maier. The two-time Olympic gold medallist considered retiring in the spring. He has been battling a back problem throughout the fall.
"It's a great feeling," said the Austrian, who turns 36 on Sunday. "It's a better feeling than some other races I won.
"Today I risked. You can't win a race without risk. Today was much better for me."
Kucera, the ninth racer down the hill, took the early lead when he crossed the finish line in 1:30.43. Maier, the next man out of the gate, beat his time by over half a second.
"Hermann was one of the guys I looked up to," said Kucera, who earned $20,000 in prize money. "Back in the late 90s, he was the guy to beat. He was unstoppable.
"Growing up I looked up to him and looked up to his style of skiing. It's cool to be competing against him. I am really happy for him."
Switzerland's Didier Cuche was third in 1:30.52.
Kucera won a super-G race here in 2006, then was third at Val Gardena, Italy. Last season he had nine top-10 finishes but was kept off the podium, sometimes by mere fractions of second.
"It's a great result," said the 24-year-old. "After last year I missed so many podiums by small amounts and was consistently in there.
"It's nice to come back home and get back on the podium again. It's a great feeling."
Being able to celebrate on the hill he grew up skiing on was special for Kucera. Early in his career he nearly had to abandon ski racing because his parents couldn't afford the sport. He was able to continue only after finding some private sponsors.
"I love doing it at home," he said. "There is nothing better than seeing your family and hanging out with your friends. You can share it with everybody.
"On the road you get to share with your teammates but you don't get to share it with the people who are close to you."
It's the third consecutive year the Canadian men have been on the podium at Lake Louise. Jan Hudec won the downhill last year. Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, B.C., was second in the 2006 downhill to go with Kucera's super-G win.
Max Gartner, Alpine Canada's chief executive officer, said opening the speed season with a podium result is great motivation for both the men's and women's team.
"We said at the beginning this is a really important race for us," said Gartner. "We wanted to come out with some good results.
"It was really important for the team to get that first big result. That sets us up good for going on to the rest of the season."
Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., who finished seventh in 1:30.83, said having a teammate in the winner's circle lights the competitive fires.
"When I see him finish second it means I can do it also," said Guay. "It's a good team result today."
Robbie Dixon of North Vancouver, B.C., was 19th in 1:31.88 while Osborne-Paradis was 27th in 1:32.19.
The men struggled in Saturday's opening downhill race of the season. Guay was the top Canadian, finishing 10th. Dixon was 19th, Osborne-Paradis 30th and Kucera 35th.
"This is a good building block heading into the year," said Kucera. "Hopefully I can build on this and get some more consistency going. Hopefully I well end up on the podium a couple more times this season.
The top U.S. skier was Marco Sullivan, who placed fifth in 1:30.71.
American Bode Miller was in contention for a top-three finish but lost his right ski about halfway down the 2.5-kilometre men's Olympic/East Summit course. Miller skied past the finish area without talking to reporters.
Among the other Canadians in the field of 65 finishers, Stefan Guay, Erik's younger brother, finished 41st in 1:33.07; Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant, 52nd in 1:33.96 and Louis-Pierre Helie of Berthierville, Que., 56th 1:34.80.
The men now head to Beaver Creek, Colo., for a downhill, super-G, super combined and giant slalom.
The women open the World Cup speed season next week here. They will raced two downhills and a super-G.
