LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Erik Guay took an important step towards the 2014 Winter Olympics on Saturday. The man who has come the closest to ending Canadas Olympic medal drought in mens skiing effectively booked his ticket to Sochi, Russia, in February. The 32-year-old from Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished eighth in the season-opening World Cup downhill in Lake Louise, Alta. That qualifies him for his third Winter Games. "Its a good thing to get it out of the way," Guay said. Dominik Paris of Italy won Saturdays race with Klaus Kroell of Austria coming second and Adrien Theaux of France third. Guay finished 1.08 seconds back of Paris, whose World Cup victory was the third of his career but first in Lake Louise. "I pushed very hard at the top and the middle section was very bumpy, so it was difficult to ski very good," Paris said. "I tried to go fast and strike the line down. At the finish, I skied very good." The men race a super-G on Sunday before heading to Beaver Creek, Colo., and the second stop on the circuit this season. Canadas last Olympic medal in skiing was Edi Podivinskys downhill bronze in 1994. Guay was fifth in both the downhill and super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics and was fourth in super-G in 2006. He was just .03 seconds away from the super-G podium in 2010. The 2011 world downhill champion has been a consistent medal producer for Canada. At 19 World Cup career medals, Guay is one away from tying the all-time record held by Steve Podborski. So the Olympic qualification criteria of a pair of top-12 results or one top-five finish wasnt onerous for Guay to achieve. He was one of four Canadian men racing at Lake Louise who were already halfway to qualifying. Each had a top-12 they could carry over from 2012-13. But Guay was short on preparation for Lake Louise. Knee surgery in July kept him off snow until earlier this month. He was fastest in the first training run for Lake Louise, but dropped to 26th in the last training session. "I think its an absolutely respectable start to the season," Guay said. "A month ago I didnt even know if I was going to be able to race here. "Winning the training run threw a wrench into things because it sets your standards a little bit higher, but all things considered Im very satisfied with the day." Canada can enter a maximum of four men in downhill and super-G in Sochi. Slalom specialist Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., is the only Canadian woman to have qualified for the Olympic ski team so far. Calgarys Jan Hudec, Vancouvers Manny Osborne-Paradis and Ben Thomsen of Whistler, B.C., were still looking for another top-12 to book their ticket to Sochi. Hudec was 22nd, Osborne-Paradis finished 28th and Thomsen placed 44th on Saturday. Snow flurries overnight meant the first few men down the hill -- Osborne-Paradis had the No. 4 start bib -- had to find speed in softer conditions. Visibility changed quickly from dim to bright and back to dim again for the first 30 men down the mountain. "I had good light," Kroell said. "In some places, it was in the sun. Its always the same in Lake Louise. Wednesday to Saturday, it always changes a little bit the light and the wind. "One time youre the lucky one and another youre not. Today, I think I was one of the lucky ones." Hudec, a downhill winner at Lake Louise in 2007, has undergone seven knee surgeries in his career and this is his first healthy start to a season in years. "Thats probably why Im frustrated because I feel a lot better now than I did last year," Hudec said. "I know I have what it takes to get in there. "Tomorrow its like a total regroup. Super-G is a different game, different race. Hopefully Ill have a better start number tomorrow and better weather and go for it." Conrad Pridy of Whistler was 32nd, Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant, Que., placed 35th and Conrads brother Morgan finished 45th. Yeezy Boost 350 Fausse . The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Yeezy 350 v2 Cloud White Pas Cher . Reimer told TSNs Mark Masters on Tuesday that he doesnt know if he will be moved leading up to the March 5 trade deadline but added he wasnt interested in discussing it. "Who knows whats going to happen on the horizon here and right now I dont know if I want to talk about it too much. http://www.pascheryeezy350v2.fr/fausse-yeezy-350-v2-cream-white.html . The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek. Off White Yeezy 350 V2 Pas Cher . He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the claret jug. Fausse Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Pas Cher . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. MONACO -- Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Spains Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., will next take on Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who advanced on a walkover when Spanish opponent Nicolas Almagro retired before their match with a foot injury. Wawrinka, the third seed, has beaten the eighth-seeded Raonic in both of their previous meetings. "Ive struggled in the past against Stan but it will be quite different this time around," said Raonic. "Im doing a lot of things well and Im looking forward to that challenge." Raonic had seven aces in his third-round match and broke Robredos serve once per set while never facing a challenge on his own serve. The Canadian also beat Robredo in their previous meeting last spring in Barcelona. His next match marks a breakthrough as it will be Raonics first quarter-final appearance at a clay-court 1000 Series event. "This is a first, thats for sure," he said. "Its a result of a lot of the good things Im doing. But I can do better and Im looking forward to bringing that out in myself. "This is the closest Ive gotten to a big clay opportunity, so its definitely a positive." In second-round mens doubles play, Torontos Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic defeated the Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matowski 6-7(6), 7-6 (3), 10-7. Raonic claimed the opening set against Robredo with a break in the final game, smashing down an overhead winner on his second set-point opportunity. The Canadian jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set when a Robredo return wide down the line. Raonic then stayed the course to serve out the victory, finishing in just over an hour. "Im very pleased with myself, I showed a lot of discipline," Raonic said. "I struggled in the beginning but was able to figure it all out towards the end of the set. I gave myself a lot of opportunities afterwards." Raonic credited his world-class serve with keeping him out of trouble. "Serving well was a big thing today," he said. "I was also moving well and able to dictate with my forehand." The victory boosted Raonics record to 10-3 on the season and has given him a boost of confidence on the slower surface. "Ive played a lot of the Spanish guys in practice matches," said Raonic, the former pupil of Spaniard Galo Blanco. "I definitely have more of an understanding of what I need to do and what I can expect from them as well." Also Thursday, defending champion Novak Djokovic raced into the quarter-finals by dispatching Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes. Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal also had little trouble, beating Italian Andreas Sepppi 6-1, 6-3, while fourth-seeded Roger Federer shook off a slow start in a 6-4, 6-1 win against Czech player Lukas Rosol.dddddddddddd The second-seeded Djokovic won his second-round opener in 45 minutes and has yet to be tested this week. He next faces Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The top-seeded Nadal has looked sloppy at times. "Lost only two games in the first two matches (here). Cant be better than this, for sure," Djokovic said. "I am confident on the court. Im coming off a great American hard-court season." Djokovic sealed the 22-minute first set with a crisp forehand. Carreno Busta received loud cheers, clenched his fists and grinned broadly when he won his only game for 3-1 in the second. Djokovic served out, tormenting him one last time with an exquisite drop shot. He is aiming for his fifth straight Masters win. He won at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, dominating Nadal in the latter final to record his third straight win against him in straight sets. "Ive had more time comparing to last year to practice on the clay courts and to get my game to the level where I want it to be," Djokovic said. Nadal achieved his 300th win on clay in beating Seppi. He won this title for eight straight years until last year when he lost the final to Djokovic. "Today I played a little bit better than yesterday," Nadal said. "I was playing at a good level." He next faces sixth-seeded David Ferrer, who easily beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-2, while Federer will face ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nadal has a 21-5 career record against countryman Ferrer, winning 10 of the past 11 meetings. "David is a tough, tough player on any surface," Nadal said. "But here on clay, always a big challenge." Rosol, meanwhile, broke Federer in the third game and held for 3-1. "It was a bit rocky in the beginning," Federer said. He broke back with a stinging cross-court forehand at Rosols feet, and then broke him to love. He clinched the set when Rosols forehand sailed long. Federer has a 10-4 record against Tsonga, who beat him in the French Open quarter-finals last year and in the Wimbledon quarters in 2011. "Ive seen Jo play different kind of quality matches lately, so not quite sure hes going to play, how aggressive, how passive," Federer said. Tsonga won 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 against Fabio Fognini of Italy, who did his best to spoil the Frenchmans 29th birthday with his wild antics, including smashing rackets and shouting loudly. In the days only upset, Garcia-Lopez beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The only other time Garcia-Lopez reached a Masters last eight was in Shanghai four years ago, when he lost to Djokovic, who leads 5-0 in their head-to-heads. ' ' '