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GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany: Canada's Erik Guay won the men's Super-G race on Thursday here at the World Cup finals with Croatia's Ivica Kostelic second and Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal third.
The 28-year-old won only the third World Cup race of his career when he finished fastest down the Kandahar course in a time of 1min 26.36sec with Kostelic second at 0.39sec and Svindal third at 0.63sec.
The victory gave Guay the Super-G Crystal Globe as the overall winner in the discipline for the season and the Canadian admitted he was shocked at his win.
"Absolutely not," he replied when asked if he had expected to win.
"I thought about it a lot though and I knew I had a small chance.
"I had no pressure on me at all, all I had to do was go very hard."
Having also had his first World Cup here in 2007 in the downhill, this was Guay's second Super-G win in four days after winning at Kvitfjell in Norway last weekend.
With the world championships being held here next year, Guay has said he is a fan of the Kandahar course.
"I love it here," he said.
"The course is great and I hope I can learn some German by next February."
Overall World Cup leader Carlo Janka finished joint 11th at 1.38sec behind, but his rival for the global title Benjamin Raich of Austria finished only sixth at 1.13sec back and did not earn enough points to take top spot.
"Tomorrow (Friday) is a new race, an open race, we will both try and get some more points," said Janka with the men's giant slalom taking place here Friday before the slalom - Raich's speciality - on Saturday.
"In slalom racing, Benni has really done well, so it's still in his hands."
The result leaves Janka top of the standings at 1097 points with Raich second on 1059 while Switzerland's overall downhill winner Didier Cuche is third on 907.
"I knew it would be a hard nut to crack (to take the lead), but I just did my best, I can't do more than that," said Raich.
"If you give everything and it's not enough you just have to tell yourself you did your best.
"I didn't expect him (Janka) to win (the downhill on Wednesday), that was quite a surprise.
"I now have to do my best over the next two days."
The loudest cheer of the day went to Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein who celebrated his last race before retiring by skiing down dressed in a jacket and tie with only a pair of shorts covering his legs.
"I can't believe it myself, I have to admit," he said after 20 years of World Cup racing.
"My heart's still in it, I've skied my whole life - 20 years in the World Cup.
"Now everything's going to change, but I think it's a very good decision to stop now. I think it's time."
The 38-year-old, who won silver at the world championships in 1999, finished at 59.23sec back, but had the whole crowd on their feet as he breezed down, even stopping to shake hands with course officials.
"It's so nice (to hear the crowd cheer), I always wished it would end like this, that the people can celebrate with me," he said.
"It was rather chilly to race (in shorts), I must admit.
"Oh well, you just have to grit your teeth a bit."
- AFP/yb
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