Cochran-Siegle, Ganong Top 10 in Val Gardena Super-G
On a sunny day amongst the jagged peaks of Val Gardena, Italy, both Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Travis Ganong skied confidently to snag the top 10 in the super-G, taking ninth and 10th, respectively.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway continued his tear, winning his third FIS World Cup in a row and his third Val Gardena speed event in a row. Matthias Mayer and Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria finished second and third.
Cochran-Siegle is only a handful of races back on the World Cup circuit after breaking his neck in Kitzbuehel last season, but is methodically working his way back to the podium. He has grabbed a few top-10 results on the World Cup in the 2021-22 season so far, including a 10th in a Lake Louise downhill, sixth in the Birds of Prey downhill and now ninth in the Val Gardena super-G, and he knows that podium is in reach for Saturday's downhill, where he was second in 2020 and his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, was second in both the World Cup and World Championships in 1970. “I think tomorrow is a pretty different race,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I just gotta go back to the training runs and look at video—what line I want to ski and how I want to ski and approach it. I think it's good to get a decent day out of this and then just trying to move forward to focus on tomorrow now.”
Ganong is also feeling confident after his 10th place result and sees it as another key milestone on his path towards a medal in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. “I think if I have a clean run and no mistakes, I’ll be up there with the best any day,” he said. “I’ve felt like that for a long time, but then have had a lot of mistakes over the years. I feel really balanced, confident and comfortable on skis right now, so it makes it fun to ski and that’s when results come. It’s a good spot to be in—in an Olympic year like this.”
Jared Goldberg also finished in the points, taking 30th. Bryce Bennett was 38th, Steven Nyman 42nd and Erik Arvidsson 43rd. Sam Morse crashed and DNFed, but is OK.
Norwegians have dominated the super-Gs in Val Gardena, having won eight of the last 10 in the stunning Dolomites venue from a combination of the now-retired Aksel Lund Svindal, the recently injured Kjetil Jansrud and Kilde. But expect the stars and stripes to come out swinging in Saturday’s downhill, with athletes like Cochran-Siegle, who was first and third in the downhill training runs, Bryce Bennett and Jared Goldberg, who have both had top-10 results on the hill, and the ‘King of the Saslong’ Steven Nyman to return to his favorite downhill on the circuit. Nyman has three wins on the Saslong and though he’s still coming back from injury, he loves this track.
The men race downhill on Saturday before the tech team races giant slalom on the other side of the valley in Alta Badia Sunday. The women begin their speed weekend in Val d’Isere, France on Saturday with a downhill and a super-G Monday.
RESULTS
Men’s super-G
HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST
Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Val Gardena, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.
