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A one-two American punch in giant slalom
In today’s giant slalom race in Beaver Creek, the story line the same with a small twist.
There was Ted Ligety sitting atop the field. But his fellow podium mates changed as teammate Bode Miller finished in a surprising second place 0.22 seconds off the pace. Austrian Marcel Hirscher picked up yet another podium finish just over a half second off the mark.
“It’s awesome to see that Bode is back in it and skiing fast. He put it together today.” Ligety said after the win. “I love this hill. I had a lot of friends and family here today which means a lot. I could have gone a little harder, but with the conditions, I didn’t want to take any big risks.”
It was less than ideal conditions for the last race of the Beaver Creek series. With wind, snow and a delayed start of 30 minutes on the first run to clear the course of excess snow, all competitors faced an uphill battle throughout the day.
In the end, it was two of the three the competitors that have dominated the giant slalom standings in the last year that were able to conquer the conditions. Ligety, Hirscher and Pinturault have shared the podium at the last three World Cup giant slaloms. But in Beaver Creek, Pinturault was bumped off the podium in favor of American Bode Miller, who was the stunner podium finisher with two spectacular runs that thrilled the hometown crowd.
The win made Ligety the first man in 22 years to win four straight giant slaloms, tying Italian Alberto Tomba’s mark set in 1991. Ligety has won seven of the last nine giant slaloms and has earned a podium in all nine of those races.
Ligety said of his performance, “I feel like I skied well the whole way done considering the conditions are tough out there; it’s pretty bouncy. I was able to arch the places I needed to arch. I was a bit surprised by the time difference because with the snow conditions right now it’s not a feel-good course.”
Source: the official FIS site
There was Ted Ligety sitting atop the field. But his fellow podium mates changed as teammate Bode Miller finished in a surprising second place 0.22 seconds off the pace. Austrian Marcel Hirscher picked up yet another podium finish just over a half second off the mark.
“It’s awesome to see that Bode is back in it and skiing fast. He put it together today.” Ligety said after the win. “I love this hill. I had a lot of friends and family here today which means a lot. I could have gone a little harder, but with the conditions, I didn’t want to take any big risks.”
It was less than ideal conditions for the last race of the Beaver Creek series. With wind, snow and a delayed start of 30 minutes on the first run to clear the course of excess snow, all competitors faced an uphill battle throughout the day.
In the end, it was two of the three the competitors that have dominated the giant slalom standings in the last year that were able to conquer the conditions. Ligety, Hirscher and Pinturault have shared the podium at the last three World Cup giant slaloms. But in Beaver Creek, Pinturault was bumped off the podium in favor of American Bode Miller, who was the stunner podium finisher with two spectacular runs that thrilled the hometown crowd.
The win made Ligety the first man in 22 years to win four straight giant slaloms, tying Italian Alberto Tomba’s mark set in 1991. Ligety has won seven of the last nine giant slaloms and has earned a podium in all nine of those races.
Ligety said of his performance, “I feel like I skied well the whole way done considering the conditions are tough out there; it’s pretty bouncy. I was able to arch the places I needed to arch. I was a bit surprised by the time difference because with the snow conditions right now it’s not a feel-good course.”
Source: the official FIS site
