Radamus Top 15 in Alta Badia Giant Slalom
On the second day of giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus skied away with a top 15 result in 14th place.
It was another gorgeous day in Alta Badia with a strong snow surface for the competitors. Similar to the day before, the course set was rhythmical throughout the steep sections of the course with a more direct set towards the bottom as the pitch rolls onto the flats.
“I think of Alta Badia as the giant slalom holy land, the conditions are always phenomenal and the slope itself has everything,” said Radamus.
From the first run all skiers were firing to ski an aggressive line. But it was ultimately Swiss skier Marco Odermatt who truly found his footing, racing to a sizable lead of almost a second above Croatian Filip Zubcic. Stifel U.S. Ski Team skier River Radamus raced down to a tenth place position after run one over two seconds behind Odermatt.
On the second run the course ran similarly and racers had to ski without hesitation to make it down with the green light. Radamus skied strong but felt he did not give it his all, he landed in 14th place overall. Swiss skier Marco Odermatt won the race again for the fourth time on this hill with Austrian Marco Schwarz in second and Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec in third.
“I have mixed emotions about today, this is my favorite and I think best track on the circuit so I wanted to give my best effort this weekend,” said Radamus. “Yesterday I went out and for today I think I struggled a little bit with my confidence which is a pity because more than anything I wanted to leave it all out there on a track like this but I will work on that for next race.”
Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Tommy Ford was on pace for another strong day after his ninth place result Sunday, but made a huge mistake forcing him to stop midway down his run. He did not qualify for a second run. George Steffey, Brian McLaughlin and Isaiah Nelson also raced but did not qualify for a second run.
The men’s tech tour heads to Madonna di Campiglio for a slalom and the giant slalom crew will pick things back up in Adelboden, Switzerland in the new year.
RESULTS
River Radamus
River Radamus hails from Edwards, Colorado where he learned to ski on the slopes of Vail, alongside his parents who are coaches. Radamus showed promise from an early age, named to the team in 2016. He is a three-time Youth Olympic Games gold medalist; he is the first to achieve this feat. Radamus also won two Junior World Championships gold medals, one in super-G and one in giant slalom.