Cochran-Siegle, Radamus Lead U.S. in Alta Badia PGS
Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in the parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy with a 12th place and young River Radamus placed 14th, his best World Cup result so far.
The parallel events are always some of the most entertaining races on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit and this one was no different. Monday’s race took place at night under the lights with a screaming crowd cheering for the .01-second wins and wild recoveries, and groaning at the crashes and upsets. Rasmus Windingstad of Norway grabbed the win over Stefan Luitz of Germany in the big final, while Roland Leitinger of Austria beat out Sunday’s giant slalom winner Henrik Kristoffersen in the small final to take his first World Cup podium in third.
On the U.S. side, Ryan, River and Tommy Ford all qualified for the PGS finals in the last race before Christmas. Tommy was eliminated in the first round by Zan Kranjec of Slovenia, finishing 23rd overall. River and Ryan both made it to the 1/8 final but were beaten out by eventual podium finishers Leitinger and Luitz, respectively.
This was River’s second time scoring World Cup points, continuing to show that world that he’s one to keep an eye on through the season. “I felt like I’ve been knocking on the door all season and it feels great to get a little breakthrough here,” said River. “This is an awesome event, and I’m psyched to have put a few good runs together under the lights tonight. I’m hungry to keep the momentum rolling into the next races in January.”
Brian McLaughlin and Steven Nyman also started in today's qualifier, but did not qualify for the race. Cochran-Siegle showcased his consistency and speed, taking his eighth point-scoring result of the season out of nine starts so far.
Next up, the men have a short Christmas break before heading to Bormio, Italy for two downhill races—including the downhill rescheduled from Val Gardena, Italy—and an alpine combined.
RESULTS
Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom
