Ligety Second in Kitzbuehel Super Combined

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (Jan. 26) – Reigning super combined world champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) skied an inspired slalom run to take second in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super combined in Kitzbuehel, the final race of the U.S. Olympic qualification period. The U.S. Alpine Ski Team nominations to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team will be announced at 4 p.m ET. It was Ligety’s second super combined podium of the season after winning in Wengen. Five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was en route to a fourth discipline podium when he was disqualified for straddling a gate just a few meters from the finish. French racer Alexis Pinturault took the victory while Austrian Marcel Hirscher finished third to the deafening delight of the crowd. Coverage of both the super G and slalom races will air at 2 p.m. ET on Universal Sports Network with the team announcement at the conclusion of the event.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Reigning super combined world champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) skied an inspired slalom run under the lights to take second in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super combined in Kitzbuehel, the final race of the U.S. Olympic qualification period.
• The U.S. Alpine Ski Team nominations to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team will be announced at 4 p.m ET.
• Ligety’s precise slalom skiing put him in first with a lead of 1:35 before French racer Alexis Pinturault took the top spot. Ligety skied into 31st in the super G portion of the two-race event. It was Ligety’s second super combined podium of the season after winning in Wengen, Switzerland.
• Five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was en route to a fourth discipline podium when he was disqualified for straddling a gate just a few meters from the finish.
• Earlier in the day he landed his third World Cup podium of the season with second, .05 behind Didier Defago of Switzerland in the Hahnenkamm super G. The super G counted as the first race of the super combined as well as a separate, stand-alone World Cup event.
• Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) continued to show promise for Sochi with sixth in the super G, the best World Cup result of his career. Unfortunately, he skied off course in the slalom and posted a DNF for the super combined event.
• Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) also finished in the points during the super G World Cup in 22nd and 23rd, while Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT), Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV) and Weibrecht finished 11th, 13th and 27th in the super combined.
• Pinturault went on to take the super combined victory while Austrian Marcel Hirscher finished third.
• The gigantic Austrian crowd filled every inch of the finish area Sunday night, cheering on their national sport with flags, horns and raw enthusiasm. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger even made an appearance at the race that’s called the most popular World Cup event of the season.
• Coverage of both the super G and slalom races will air at 2 p.m. ET on Universal Sports Network with the team announcement at the conclusion of the event.

QUOTES
Ted Ligety
My slalom run was okay. It was sure better than in the classic slalom race. Alexis is a great slalom skier, so it’s not too bad to be after him. The crowd is great; there are not many places where you can attract a crowd like this one on a Sunday night.

Bode Miller
My super G was okay today. It was obviously disappointing not to win; five hundredths is not very much time. Just give me a break and let me win one time here. I’m okay with it. I skied hard today and just got beat.

It (super G) was pretty basic. Ski racing is all about making due with what you get with weather. This super G here didn’t give us a lot of chances to make up time. I skied really well but couldn’t do anything else.

RESULTS
Official Super Combined Results
Official Super G Results

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