Ross Leads Downhill Training

VAIL/BEAVER CREEK, CO (Feb. 5. 2015)—There was a lot riding on the results from the women’s downhill training runs on Thursday afternoon in Beaver Creek. With it all said and done, the U.S. Ski Team will send Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA), Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR), and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) into Friday’s downhill field.

Despite missing a gate, Austria’s Anna Fenninger finished Thursday’s downhill training run in first place. Fenninger continues to ski fast in Beaver Creek, CO on the coattails of her super G victory on Tuesday. Missing a gate is not penalized by a disqualification in training runs; hence Fenninger’s victory. Vonn also missed a gate en route to finishing 19th overall.

Ross finished as the fastest American skier during the downhill training, coming in sixth. Immediately behind her was Mancuso in seventh overall. 

“I am looking forward to racing,” said Ross. “I just hope we all ski our best, and if we ski our absolute best I know we can finish one, two, three, and four. It’s unlikely, but it can happen.”

Lindsey Vonn took 19th in the training run, but looks for the win in the World Champs downhill. (Getty Images-Ezra Shaw)

Rounding out the U.S. Ski Team’s downhill racers will be Cook, who was medically cleared to race after suffering a left arm contusion and a sprained right thumb during a crash in downhill training. She was evaluated at Vail Valley Medical Center and released.

Tune in to NBCSN on Friday, February 6 at 1 p.m. EST to watch the women’s downhill live or stream it live on NBC Live Extra.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Fenninger won the downhill training with a time of 1:47:48.
• Slovenia’s Tina Maze finished second after skiing 0:0:03 slower than Fenninger.
• Fenninger and Maze also finished 1-2 in the World Champs super G.
• Switzerland’s Lara Gut came in third in training.
• The U.S. Ski Team started six skiers in the downhill training. Ross finished sixth, Mancuso seventh, Vonn 19th, Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO) 24th, and Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, OR) 38th, and Cook DNFed due to her fall.

QUOTES
Laurenne Ross
It was a little softer, due to the late afternoon run. The snow got a little peely and little bally and the terrain was kind of bumpy. There’s definitely a lot of wind still. It was still really fun, and I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to racing tomorrow. I just hope we all ski our best, and if we ski our absolute best I know we can finish one, two, three, and four. It’s unlikely, but it can happen.

RESULTS
Downhill training results