Watch Kilde drive to victory in the video window at the top!

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has never been on the podium at Lake Louise in Canada. That changed after Saturday’s downhill race. The winner of the super-G and the downhill cup last year opened the season with a bang.

– Absolutely huge. It is disconcerting to sit in the chair and watch both Hemetsberger and Mayer, and especially Odermatt. Being right in front is pleasant to feel. It couldn’t have been a better start to the season, Kilde told Viaplay when the top 30 raced.

Kilde with starting number six raced the track at Lake Louise and increased his lead along the way. At the bottom of the hill, the 30-year-old clocked a time of 1.47.98 and took the lead a second and two hundredths ahead of then-leader Thomas Dressen, who won the race in 2019.

– Aleksander delivered a fantastically good race, and I think it can last well, Kjetil Jansrud said in Viaplay’s commentary booth as Kilde crossed the finish line.

And the former mountaineer was absolutely right.

The toughest competitors couldn’t keep up with Kilde.

Last year’s World Cup winner Marco Odermatt edged Kilde for much of the way, but towards the end the gap narrowed and it ended in a thrilling finish for the Swiss. It just didn’t work. Odermatt was a tenth behind Kilde.

Two-time Olympic champion Matthias Mayer was also one of the top contenders, but the Austrian was nearly four tenths behind Kilde.

Daniel Hemetsberger was closest in time to Kilde. The Austrian finished 0.06 seconds behind.

Three other Norwegians also left on Saturday.

Adrian Smiseth Sejersted finished in 30th place, Henrik Røa in 52nd place and Markus Nordgaard Fossland in 60th place.