From the U.S. Ski Team
Olympic champion Ted Ligety of Park City, Utah kicked off the 2010 Olympic season in a huge way Sunday as he shredded his way to a second-place podium finish during the Audi FIS World Cup opener at Soelden, Austria.
It marked the third year in a row Ligety has finished on the podium in Soelden.
"This is the toughest year I've raced in Soelden. It hasn't been that many years, but today was super bumpy and pretty variable snow. I was psyched to make it down and get second, so it was definitely a good day," Ligety said. "I'm super psyched with how I am skiing and it's a good way to start out the season."
Ligety, who also finished the first run in second was flanked by the Swiss on both sides of the podium. Defending World Cup GS champion Didier Cuche won by .60 seconds and reigning GS World Champion Carlo Janka finished third, trailing .35 behind.
"Soelden is always a little different every year just because it's the first race of the year and you don't really know how fast you're skiing. You have to psych yourself up all that much more because you have no idea if you're fast or not, but luckily I was able to step up and have good races," Ligety said. "I felt like I was skiing great. I still had some mistakes, but everyone has mistakes every run, so it's not too big of a deal there."
It was the first race back for Ligety who suffered a late season knee injury in March 2009. Ligety made an incredibly swift recovery thanks to hours spent rehabilitating at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah over the summer.
"The spring was definitely the most boring I've had in a while. I was basically immobile for about six weeks and then headed straight into rehab full time," Ligety said. "It's great to have a facility like that—it's pretty key, especially when we get injured. But it's also great to have a place where everything we need for dryland training is taken care of."
The U.S. Ski Team's Tim Jitloff of Reno, Nev. almost pushed into the second run, finishing 31st—one spot ahead of World Cup rookie Tommy Ford of Bend, Ore., skiing his first World Cup. Jitloff missed the cut by two-tenths with Ford .06 behind his teammate.
With the first World Cup of the season completed, the Men's Alpine Team will stay in Europe to train for races in Levi, Finland. "It's kind of a busy schedule," said Ligety. "But it's fun. We have a good group of guys on the Team and our coaches are a lot of fun to work with, so I'm looking forward to it."
The next GS of the season will be in Beaver Creek at the Audi Birds of Prey, when the World Cup circuit converges on the Colorado Rockies for the only three days of alpine action in the U.S. prior to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Top results from Sunday's GS: 1—Didier Cuche, Switzerland, 2:21.45. 2—Ted Ligety, Park City, UT, 2:22.05. 3—Carlo Janka, Switzerland, 2:22.40. 4—Massimilliano Blardone, Italy, 2:22.41. 5—Benjamin Raich, Austria, 2:22.90.
Vonn is solid in Soelden GS
Two-time World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn of Vail, Colo. kicked off the Olympic season in Austria Saturday matching her previous year's results in Soelden with a solid ninth place GS finish in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup opener. The finish will be the first of many as the World Champion looks to defend her title in 2010.
With over 5,000 fans at the glacier cheering her on, Vonn, who had finished eighth in the first run, skied consistently and was happy to match her Soelden finish from last season.
"I'm just out there trying to do the best I can every day," said Vonn. "In GS, all that's important is that I get to the finish and I get some points and stay ahead of the right people. It's in the speed disciplines that I go really fast and hopefully get some big points."
According to Vonn, while her finish was consistent, she has made strides in GS.
"I think I've made some progress with GS," she said. "You may not have seen it today, but I'm training well," Vonn said. "I just need to get some more miles on the equipment. But I definitely haven't lost anything. The equipment (Head) is working very well and if anything I think I'm skiing much better."
Vonn, who will head to her hometown of Vail to train, has her sights set firmly on the slalom in Levi, Finland where she won her first World Cup slalom last season.
Sarah Schleper of Vail just made Saturday's finals finishing 30th in the first run. Schleper missed an opportunity to capitalize on having a clean course, but was happy to be in the points in 24th.
After missing the 2007 and 2008 World Cup seasons from injury and the birth of her son Lasse, Schleper is in outstanding shape and focused on making her fourth Olympics.
Olympic champion Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Ca., who finished 21st in the first run, was also looking poised to compete for a top finishing spot. After one of the best intervals near the start, Mancuso got caught up on a right turn and went out.
According to Mancuso, some equipment issues and confidence had a lot to do with how she finished Saturday. She switched skis between runs to a shorter pair hoping to capitalize on more mobility on the turny Soelden course.
"I'm still a little confused on what skis to race on. I have some longer ones and some shorter ones," Mancuso said. "The first run was solid, not super fast—it was OK. But I felt a lot better going into the second run. I went out and had a good start. But, it's tough to get confidence back after my season last year."
Austrian Nicole Hosp, who won the overall title three seasons ago, went down hard in the second run. According to the Austrian Team, she was airlifted to a hospital where she underwent right knee surgery and is expected to be out for the season. Hosp is the last women to win the World Cup overall title prior to Vonn's back-to-back titles.
Top results from Saturday: 1—Tanja Poutianen, Finland, 2:24.96. 2—Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 2:24.97. 3—Denise Karbon, Italy, 2:25.28. 4—Tina Maze, Slovenia, 2:25.80. 5—Maria Pietilae-Holmner, Sweden, 2:25.84. 9—Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 2:26.35. 24—Sarah Schleper, Vail, CO, 2:29.61. 41—Resi Stiegler, Jackson Hole, WY, 1:17.09. 51—Jessica Kelley, Starksboro, VT, 1:17.90.
Ted Ligety enjoys his second place finish at Soelden last weekend. Courtesy photo by Tom Kelly/USSA
