Cochran-Siegle 10th at Copper Mountain
Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle snagged 10th place in the season opener super-G in front of a domestic crowd at the Stifel Copper Cup presented by United Airlines. River Radamus also landed in the top 30 in 22nd and Kyle Negomir was 24th.
It was an exciting day as men's World Cup racing returned to Copper Mountain for the first time in 49 years. Cochran-Siegle kicked off the race wearing bib one. Despite flat light, he knifed his turns and pushed the limits, but on the last pitch, Cochran-Siegle fell onto his hip and lost all momentum. He somehow managed to pop up and finish for a miraculous recovery.
“I didn't get enough space entering that left footer around the bend, so then that fall away just kept pulling and I didn't get enough direction for that one right footer. But the snow was great,” said Cochran-Siegle.
Even with the error, Cochran-Siegle still ended up in the top 10 - his best super-G result in nearly two years - and something he will be able to use heading into the speed events at the Stifel Birds of Prey.
“I honestly didn't feel that I skied that well until I got into the flats,” said Cochran-Siegle. “To still be competitive until that last split, I think there's definitely something to take from that and I have more gas in the tank.”
The crowd continued to buzz throughout the late morning and into the afternoon, but revved up as each American stood in the start gate. Radamus came down flying with solid splits throughout the course, but held back a little on the bottom to land safely within the top 30. Negomir was the next big moment for the American squad, fighting through illness to end up 24th.
“We're all pushing right to the absolute limit, but there were a couple of gotcha turns down the bottom that we're taking some names for today,” said Radamus.
It was an exciting day for young Tanner Perkins in bib 69, who chased the world's fastest skiers to the finish to take 51st place in his first ever World Cup. He smiled in the finish and took off his helmet to show off his haircut to the fans. It's been a long-standing tradition on the men's team to give a haircut to the rookie starting his first World Cup race - and the crowd loves Perkins' American flag-inspired 'do.
“The biggest thing I feel is I just want to push harder and ski faster and risk even more every time,” said Perkins. “I did a good job remembering that this is just ski racing and it's still just a sport at the end of the day.”
Finally, it was the great return of Norwegian Aleks Aamodt Kilde to the World Cup after nearly two seasons away from the sport after a crash in Wengen, Switzerland. The athletes and fans were on their feet to welcome the great downhiller back to the World Cup tour. It was a special moment for Kilde and the ski racing community, including his fiancée and Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin, who greeted him in the finish.
Sam Morse, Wiley Maple, Bryce Bennett and Jared Goldberg landed in 52nd, 60th, 61st and 65th, respectively. The winner of the race was the Swiss phenom Marco Odermatt, while Austria's Vincent Kreichmayer and Raphael Haaser were second and third.
The racing continues Friday with a men’s giant slalom.
RESULTS
Men's super-G
