Shiffrin Fourth in Front of 18,500 Killington Fans

In front of 18,500 screaming fans, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) ended up just off the podium in fourth place at the Killington Cup giant slalom, where Italy's Federica Brignone wowed the crowd with her solid skiing for the victory, followed by Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel and Austria's Stephanie Brunner in third. 

The ladies came in charging today on a first run course that was relatively open and straight and laid down some impressively fast, aggressive skiing. There's no question Mowinckel's giant slalom skills are impressive, but her super-G skills came into play that first run too, as she took a more direct line than most of her competitors and secured a big 0.37 second lead over Brignone. However, with "hero snow," only a few tenths separated positions two through eight. Today "Superstar" made a lot of athletes look like superstars. Shiffrin sat in sixth, 0.69 seconds out, but within striking position for a podium. 

Tom "Cowboy" Johnston, who is in charge of the surface, ensured his team put together a bulletproof track, and the snow was perfect - perhaps, even a little too perfect (if that's even a thing) in some athletes' minds. Accustomed to slick, hockey rink-like surfaces on the World Cup, athletes found that today's surface held up so well for the entire field...which is the best "problem" to have. However, that made it harder for athletes to make big gains and separate themselves from the field. Hence, the tight time differential. 

"The first run I had some really good skiing, but some of the turns I was just not aggressive enough. The second run I was much more aggressive, but it wasn't quite enough. Watching Fede (Brignone) go down I was like, 'Well, yeah - that makes sense!" Shiffrin laughed. 

Shiffrin upped the intensity for the second run, cheered on by 18,500 screaming fans. She skied clean and strong, with great tactical precision, and came through the finish in the lead by .32 seconds, but Brunner, Mowinckel and - particularly - Brignone were just extremely sound and solid. They turned up the intensity just a notch higher, and it paid off for them. Last year's Killington giant slalom winner, German Viki Rebensburg, ran into some trouble and skied out, while 2016 Killington giant slalom winner, France's Tessa Worley finished in fifth, just two hundredths behind Shiffrin.

Always a student of the sport, Shiffrin reflected, "I was happy with some of my skiing, but I wasn't happy with the intensity...I want it too, but I was enjoying the feeling first run too much. I was feeling too comfortable." But, she loved competing in front of the 18,500 fans in Killington.

"Being here has been very special, I'm not feeling too much pressure - I'm just excited to race. It was so much fun to ski in front of the 18,500 fans that came out today and cheered so loud. It's really so incredible to be able to hear all of them and to be welcomed into the finish area into such an amazing atmosphere. I am looking forward to skiing for them again tomorrow!"

Six Americans were on Saturday's start list, with some good skiing from two California gals - Nina O'Brien (San Francisco, Calif.) and Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, Calif.) - though they each ran into some trouble with the terrain on the tough Superstar track. Vermonter Abi Jewett (Ripton, Vt.) made her World Cup debut on home soil. Though she did not qualify for a second run, she was happy to get the first race jitters out of the way and compete in front of her family and friends. The women will take on slalom on Sunday, as Shiffrin goes for the hat trick of Killington slalom victories, while the men will ski super-G at Lake Louise, Canada. 

Nyman 11th, Bennett 12th in Lake Louise Downhill
Veran downhiller Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) returned from injury to lead the charge for the U.S. Ski Team in Saturday's downhill at the FIS Ski World Cup speed opener in Lake Louise, Canada. 

Seven Americans were on the roster, including Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Nyman, Jared Goldberg, (Holladay, Utah), Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.), Thomas Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.)

Austria’s Max Franz claimed the top podium finish, and Italy took second and third with Christof Innerhofer and Dominik Paris, respectively. In his first World Cup back since sustaining a knee injury in Garmisch, Germany last February, Nyman placed 11th followed by Bennett in 12th, and Cochran-Siegle rocketing from bib 54 to land in 20th place.

This week was a bit of a wake-up call for Nyman, in being back on a World Cup surface. "Today was a little nerve-wracking," Nyman said. "I had questions in my head, but being on the World Cup is always different than training. I was skiing well this summer, but we weren't really delivered the greatest training conditions, and World Cup conditions are much different - today it was hard, responsive, strong - and since I haven't skied much in the last two years, I had adapted by equipment to the softer snow. I had to go back to ground zero."

Nyman mentioned the challenging conditions with the wind, and for big guys like Nyman and Bennett, aerodynamics are key. Searching for aerodynamics and "piercing the wind" were important, and Bennett's run inspired Nyman. "I can't let the other tall guy beat me! I nipped him," Nyman laughed. "I'm really proud of him. He stepped it up and he's a proven racehorse. He fought today. 

He added that teammate Cochran-Siegle's performance was key for the speed team. "Super proud of Ryan Cochran-Siegle," noted Nyman. "My injuries are nothing compared to what he went through, and that kid's long-term term goal of achieving things like this, and he has much more to come, but for him to lay down from back there was fantastic and creating another spot for the team is a big step forward, so congrats to him. I have a lot of work to do, myself, but I still believe I can be on the podium and win races."

Sunday’s super-G will be streamed live at 4:00 p.m. EST on both the Olympic Channel and on NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST
 

Sunday, Nov. 25
10:00 a.m. - World Cup women’s slalom, first run, Killington, Vt - NBC Sports Gold*
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s slalom, second run, Killington, Vt - NBC
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s slalom, second run, Killington, Vt - NBC Sports Gold*
4:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - The Olympic Channel
4:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold*

*NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product “Snow Pass” provides fans access to live and on-demand domestic and international competitions of seven Olympic winter sports from October 2018 through April 2019.

The Snow Pass provides access to every second of race action throughout the season. Whoever you support, their races will be broadcast on the Snow Pass. NBC will also email you prior to each event to remind you of live broadcast times on Snow Pass, and if you can’t watch live, the entire event will be available to replay, all for under 20 cents per day.