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Ski Round Up - 2010/01/18 16:36
It was another wild weekend on the slopes, with the topics of conversation ranging from heavy fog to thick beards. Alpine insider Brian Pinelli was in Adelboden for the men's races. Which Frenchman shaved his beard and then won? How did Americans Bode Miller and Ted Ligety fare? Brian talks about these issues and a whole lot more in his notebook.
Rising Italian star Davide Simoncelli was probably among the most disappointed skiers this past weekend in Adelboden, a small Swiss village with a storied history of World Cup skiing nestled in the Bernese Oberland. Unlike the many who struggled on the icy, rolling and precipitous Chuenisbargli piste, the Italian was molto bene (very good).
His first run time of 56.08 seconds in Saturday's giant slalom was fastest of the day. Unfortunately for Simoncelli and the 28,000 fans in attendance, the race was officially canceled when thick fog caused the first run to be scrapped with eight racers yet to start.
Sunday was a significantly different story as popular Frenchman Julien Lizeroux pulled off some magic that would have even impressed Houdini. Last season's world championship silver medalist stormed from 12th place, 1.15 seconds behind first run leader Mattias Hargin of Sweden, to nab his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion.
Lizeroux had previously been one of the most talked about skiers on tour, not for his racing prowess but for the overgrown beard he had been sporting. Last Wednesday in Zagreb, Croatia, he trimmed it down to wolverine sideburns and on Sunday, voila! A clean-shaven Frenchman.
"Everybody can stop talking to me about this [beard], it was just some hair and I'm still the same person," Lizeroux said after the win. "They asked me, when, why, how. I don't have the answer to that, but now it's gone. I'm on the podium and it's my first victory of the winter so I think I made a good choice."
For Lizeroux it was his third career World Cup victory. He also became the first Frenchman to win in Adelboden since Patrick Russel took a giant slalom in 1971.
Bode and Ted
Crowd favorite Bode Miller looked solid in the first run of the slalom, a discipline that has caused him problems over the past few seasons. The New Hampshire native was ninth after the first run, 0.94 seconds off the pace. Miller had some unforeseen challenges in the second run, but still managed to finish 14th.
"[The skiing] was encouraging, but my goggle lens was inside out on the second run and it got fogged up on the first five seconds of the course," Miller said in the finish area. "The light was already kind of tough and I couldn't see anything the whole way, so to make it down I was pretty happy."
The 32-year-old Miller competed this past weekend for the first time since running a downhill in Val Gardena, Italy on Dec. 19th. The former World Cup champ injured an ankle during a team volleyball game in Val d'Isere, France the weekend prior to the Italian race.
"It's a slow process," said Miller regarding improving his conditioning. "I had a break over Christmas and New Year's and worked out pretty hard. I think I made some gains and I feel good. This next month is important. I have to make sure I'm healthy."
Miller's teammate Ted Ligety also skied well in the first run, ending seventh and 0.74 seconds off the lead. He was ripping down the slope in the afternoon run until he started a turn prematurely and missed a gate.
Ligety was fifth in the first run of Saturday's giant slalom before it was canceled due to fog. Among the U.S. men, he is the only skier officially qualified for the Olympics in giant slalom. The final three spots remain open and the giant slalom cancelation in Adelboden leaves some questions unanswered.
Croatian siblings
Seven-time World Cup slalom winner Ivica Kostelic underwent his sixth knee surgery on Dec. 13. The Croatian veteran admitted hoping to just get through six slaloms in January safely in preparation for February's Olympics.
Kostelic surprised many on Sunday, including Swiss commentator and 1972 Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi -- who said the Croatian had "no chance" of getting on the podium -- with a third place finish in the slalom.
Ivica's sister Janica, has been traveling regularly with her older brother on tour since she retired. The 27-year-old Janica's six Olympic Alpine medals are more than any woman in history.
"I think she is super and knows a lot about ski racing, not just on the course but also about mental preparation and so on," Ivica said of his sister. "She also has a different point of view from the coaches and this is important for me to hear."
Representing the Great White North
Come February, Canada's best hope for an Olympic medal in the technical events lies with Michael Janyk, 27. The Whistler, British Columbia resident was a surprise bronze medalist in slalom at last season's Val d'Isere world championships, and has been fifth and sixth in the last two world cup slaloms, respectively.
On Sunday, Janyk was one of 26 victims who failed to find the finish line in the first run. The Canadian made a mistake on a tough fall-away section just 20 seconds into the run, an area that troubled numerous racers.
"Actually for me it was almost too easy because the snow was really aggressive," Janyk said. "I was too early [going into a turn] and caught my tip. I made a rookie mistake. I should have changed my set-up for more grippy snow. I kept my boots really tight for ice."
And when queried on how many times journalists will ask him about the home Olympics in Vancouver over the upcoming weeks, Janyk replied, "Hopefully a lot. That means they care. It will be an unbelievable event. I can't wait."
Sidelined Swiss Miss
Watching the action in Adelboden was Swiss teenage phenom Lara Gut, who is currently recovering from hip surgery in October. She still hopes to compete in the Vancouver Olympics. Gut, 18, was second to the dominant Lindsey Vonn at last season's world championship downhill and also won her first race one year ago, a World Cup super-G in St. Moritz.
"I have to say life without skiing is really boring," Gut said. "I've been training again since last week but before that I was just studying and going to rehab."
If all goes well for Gut, she could potentially return to racing in St. Moritz at the end of January.
"Next week the doctors will tell me when I can ski again," she said. "For me it's better to wait a week more than a week less. I don't know if I will ski in St. Moritz, maybe I will be ok and try to ski the giant slalom and then also at the Olympics. We will see."
Swiss success and struggles
It was a subpar weekend for the home team. Swiss veteran Didier Cuche caught an edge on the insanely-steep final pitch of the giant slalom, resulting in a crash and slide into the safety netting. Young star Carlo Janka failed to find his way to the bottom in the first run of the slalom. The team's best result was 25-year-old Marc Gini's sixth-place showing.
Despite the lack of World Cup points attained on Sunday, Switzerland still boasts three skiers among the top six in the overall standings. The 23-year-old Janka has 577 points, only second to Austrian Benjamin Raich (639). Cuche is in third with 481 and Didier Defago is sixth (336).
Audi FIS World Cup racing continues in Switzerland this weekend, as the tour moves east to awe-inspiring Wengen for a super-combined on Friday and then to the vaunted Lauberhorn downhill on Saturday -- with Defago seeking to repeat last year's victory -- and the third of six January slaloms on Sunday.
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