Cam Alexander, Jack Crawford lead deep Canadian men's downhill ski team into season

The Canadian men's downhill ski team opens an important racing season intent on making a multi-pronged push for the podium.

Their World Cup speed season begins in Beaver Creek, Colo., with Friday's downhill and Saturday's super-G.

Like the Crazy Canucks of the last century and Canadian Cowboys earlier this century, Alpine Canada's downhillers boast more than one man capable of winning races and challenging for the season's overall Crystal Globes, provided they stay on their skis and away from the crash nets in a high-speed sport.

"Our goals are to keep them healthy, first and foremost, and every weekend we want to go out and we want to challenge for podiums, world championship medals and Olympic medals," said head coach John Kucera, the 2009 world men's downhill champion with the Canadian Cowboys.

"The ultimate goal for some athletes in this group is to put themselves in a position to be consistent enough to compete for Globes. They're in elite company, a number of them.

"For me, what's important is that we just keep pushing to bring the consistency necessary to be threats every weekend."

Led by reigning world super-G champion James (Jack) Crawford of Toronto and 2023 world downhill bronze medallist Cam Alexander of North Vancouver, B.C., the men embark on the last full season of World Cup racing before the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

This is a season in which they can punch their Olympic tickets with the right combination of results at the world championship and on the World Cup circuit.

Calgary's Jeff Read, son of Crazy Canuck Ken Read, earned his first World Cup medal with a super-G silver in February.

Brodie Seger of North Vancouver, B.C., has been a top-10 finisher in world championship and Olympic