FINLAY MICKEL’S dreams of becoming Great Britain’s first Olympic alpine medal-winner were shattered after a disappointing downhill run at Sestriere Borgata yesterday.
Mickel learnt the harsh reality of his sport’s biggest competition as he finished 25th, 2.68 seconds behind the runaway winner, Antoine Deneriaz, of France.
From a start gate of two, the Scot never fully recovered from a poor start and his hopes of exceeding Martin Bell’s eighth-place finish in 1988 were over. Mickel said: “I was disappointed not to have my best day of the season on the biggest day of the season.
“My mistake was made in qualifying. Normally I would build confidence every day up to a race but I had a shocker. The course was really challenging at the top and I have not been able to nail those top three gates all week. You’ve got to be able to change your game for the big courses and I could not do it today.”
Mickel had harboured realistic hopes of a top-ten finish, having secured tenth place in a World Cup race last month following 11th at last year’s World Championships.
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Deneriaz was a surprise winner, racing out of his start gate of 30 to knock Michael Walchhofer, the World Cup leader, into second place.