LEVI, Finland (Nov. 11) – Three-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety, who was victorious in the opening World Cup race at Soelden, Austria two weeks ago, finished 13th Sunday in a foggy slalom held north of the Arctic Circle. Defending World Cup slalom champion Andre Myhrer of Sweden won my a narrow .06 margin over reigning overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria. Warm air pushed temperatures into the high 30's causing thick fog to loom over both runs. Universal Sports will air the race at 10 a.m. ET. The U.S. men now return to Colorado to prep for the opening of the speed season at Lake Louise, AB and Beaver Creek with a block of training at the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) finished 13th in a foggy Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom held north of the Arctic Circle.
- Will Brandenburg (Spokane, WA) landed 15th. David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) skied out in the second run and Nolan Kasper (Warren, VT) did not qualify for the top 30 final.
- Ligety's preparation for Levi was hampered by difficult weather in Europe, while Brandenburg and Chodounsky experience excellent weather and snow conditions in Colorado.
- Defending World Cup slalom champion Andre Myhrer of Sweden bested Austrian overall champion Marcel Hirscher by .06 for the win.
- Universal Sports TV will provide top to bottom coverage at 10:00 a.m. ET with a repeat at 2:30 and 8 p.m. Subscribers can also watch online including live streaming of all Audi FIS Alpine World Cups. Click for access information and to learn how you can help get Universal Sports on your local cable network.
- The Americans return to Colorado this week for Nature Valley First Tracks, the 2013 U.S. Ski Team Announcement slated for Nov. 15 at Vail.
- The annual Audi Birds of Prey race week is scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Beaver Creek.
QUOTES
Mike Day, Men's Technical Head Coach
Ted [Ligety] had a tough training period after Soelden. We kind of got beaten up by Mother Nature everywhere we tried to train, but his skiing is far better than what it was today. He's ready to make a move in slalom.
The coaches in Colorado had said great things about the skiing Will [Brandenburg] and David [Chodounsky] had been doing in Colorado leading up to this race. Clearly that showed in the first run for David. It's really a testament to the effort he put in at the gym this summer. After missing last season with patella surgery and a good portion of the prep period with a broken collarbone, he's very behind on miles, but in reality he's way ahead on strength.
This is exactly what we've been working on with Will – just increasing his average speed and not necessarily relying on his top end speed all of the time. This is a solid result for him to build on.
RESULTS
Official Results
KEY LINKS
Universal Sports TV
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U.S. Ski Team Twitter
