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Olympic Qualifying Concludes at Mammoth Mountain

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
January, 17 2018
Mammoth USGP
Mammoth Mountain hosts the final Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the season this week. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

U.S. Snowboard Team and U.S. Freeski Team athletes who have not yet qualified for their respective Olympic teams will have one more chance to do so this week at the final Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the season at Mammoth Mountain, California. Finals for halfpipe and slopestyle skiing and snowboarding will take place Jan. 19-21, with Olympic team naming celebrations taking place Saturday and Sunday.

After last week’s Grand Prix at Snowmass, Colorado, halfpipe athletes Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.), Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.), Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.), David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) have all clinched their spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. The week was highlighted by White’s final run in the halfpipe, where he scored a perfect 100.

Notable names who’ll be looking to clinch Olympic spots in the final halfpipe events on Saturday, Jan. 20 include Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.), Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.), Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.), Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) and Kelly Clark (Mammoth, Calif.). Halfpipe athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the U.S. Olympic team will be named Saturday night.

"I couldn't be more excited that Mammoth Mountain is going to host the last Olympic qualifier and the naming of the 2018 Olympic team,” said Clark “I always love getting to compete in my home halfpipe, and it would be a dream to qualify for my fifth Olympic team in front of my hometown crowd."

On the slopestyle side of things, Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) and Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) were the only two athletes to clinch spots in Snowmass, so the field is still pretty open for athletes to claim spots. Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.), Jessika Jenson (Rigby, Idaho) and Hailey Langland are the top snowboard athletes who still have to clinch their spots.  

Top slopestyle skiing athletes looking to clinch include Nick Goepper (Lawrence, Ind.), McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.), Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo), who is coming off of a win in Snowmass. Athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the women’s U.S. Olympic slopestyle skiing team qualified will be named on Saturday night. The men’s freeski athletes will have two competitions, one Saturday and one Sunday, before their team is named on Sunday.

“The entire Mammoth Mountain crew couldn’t be more proud and excited to host the final Olympic qualifier here in Main Park,” said Lauren Burke, public relations and social media manager for Mammoth Mountain. “It’s truly been an all-hands-on-deck effort and we’re excited to watch some of the best freeskiing and snowboarding in the world go down over the next couple days. It’s even more exciting to have so many Mammoth Team Athletes like Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, Judd Henkes, Brock Crouch Carly Margulies and others battling it out for a spot on Team USA.”

NBC Sports Group will feature coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain with shows airing on NBC and NBC Sports Network, with a select streaming package on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Olympic Selection Update (as of 1/14/18)
Current Freeski Olympic Selection Rankings
Current Snowboard Olympic Selection Rankings

Event Schedule
*subject to change
Jan. 18: Halfpipe skiing + slopestyle snowboarding qualifications

Jan. 19: Halfpipe snowboarding + slopestyle skiing qualifications; halfpipe skiing finals

Jan. 20: Slopestyle skiing + slopestyle snowboarding + halfpipe snowboarding finals
Jan. 21: Men’s slopestyle skiing finals (non-World Cup) AFP Platinum

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

Jan. 19
12:15 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 20
1:00 a.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (next day coverage)
4:00 p.m. – Slopestyle skiing + snowboarding finals – NBC (same day coverage)

Jan. 21
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Announces Global Partnership With airweave

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
January, 16 2018
airweave

PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 16, 2018) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has today announced that airweave is the latest world-class brand to join the Olympic sports organization’s growing roster of partners as the Official Bedding Supplier.  As a primary element of the partnership, airweave will supply mattresses to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athletes to help them maximize performance throughout the year ahead.

“We are proud to continue our history of supporting U.S. national team athletes and their performance,” said airweave CEO and President Motokuni Takaoka. “We look forward to watching the U.S. Ski & Snowboard teams compete knowing they are well-rested thanks to airweave.”

“Sleeping well is an incredibly important part of an athlete’s preparation and recuperation in training and competition,” said Troy Taylor, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Director. “Having airweave on board with our team is a vital part of the intricate planning that we do with our athletes in competition throughout the year and we are delighted to welcome airweave into our U.S. Ski & Snowboard family.”

The Sponsorship includes airweave’s total sleep solution of mattresses, toppers, pillows, duvets, and a limited edition travel blanket for use while U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are competing internationally and at the Sleep Center at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. In addition, airweave will be utilizing individual athletes from their High Performance Team as brand ambassadors on social media.

Trusted by The World’s Elite
Having fostered relationships with top athletes, businesses and institutions has become a crucial part of airweave’s R&D which includes years of studies with top sleep scientists and IMG Academy on the relationship between sleep quality, bedding, and athletic performance. U.S. Ski & Snowboard joins airweave’s list of global partners which includes The Ritz Paris, Royal Ballet School, and Japan Airlines. 

About airweave
Airweave is the Japanese bedding manufacturer known for their unique mattress core material airfiber® and the belief that “Tomorrow Starts Tonight.”  Offering optimum breathability, even pressure distribution and support airfiber® is the latest in sleep surface technology while also being 100% washable and eco-friendly. Having expanded to a range of bedding, lifestyle and technology products in Japan, airweave Founder and CEO Motokuni Takaoka introduced his line of mattresses to the United States online through airweave.com and select retail partners in 2014. Airweave aims to be recognized as a global sleep solution brand, designing innovative products for use at home, while traveling and everywhere in between.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic sports organization based in Park City, UT providing leadership and direction for elite athletes competing at the highest level worldwide and for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders in the USA, encouraging and supporting all its athletes in achieving excellence wherever they train and compete. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. One of the oldest and most established sports organizations worldwide, directly tracing its roots back to 1905, U.S. Ski & Snowboard receives no direct government support, operating solely through private donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to fund athletic programs that directly assist athletes in reaching their dreams.

Kenworthy Wins Slopestyle Olympic Qualifier

By Courtney Harkins
January, 14 2018
Gus Kenworthy Nick Goepper
Gus Kenworthy stands atop the freeski slopestyle podium at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Snowmass Mountain, with Nick Goepper in second place. (Getty Images-Matt Stockman)

Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.) put down a massive second run through the Aspen-Snowmass slopestyle course to take first place the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic selection event, putting himself in the driver's seat to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Team.

Olympic bronze medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) finished in second. Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) took second for the women.

Goepper dominated the first run with a 93.60 score and laid down another clutch run on his second go-around. But Kenworthy dropped in on his second run with a fire burning underneath him, and put down big, clean tricks to score a 95.60 and take his first 2018 Olympic qualifying podium in slopestyle.

“I feel great today,” said Kenworthy happily in the finish after hugging his mother and father. “This season has actually been kind of tough for me, so this just feels good and gives me a lot of confidence and hopefully momentum going into Mammoth.”

Goepper would have clinched a spot in the Olympics with a first-place finish, so will have to wait until next week’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain to confirm his Olympic team spot. But he was still excited about the second place and lauded his teammate.

“Gus skied really well—he inspires me with his skiing,” said Goepper. “I’m feeling great sitting in a really good position to qualify for the Olympics and it’s on to Mammoth.”

Young gun Quinn Wolferman (Missoula, Mont.) showed that he’ll remain on the radar for the remainder of the Olympic qualifying season, taking fourth place. Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.) was eighth and McRae Williams (Park City, Utah) was ninth.

In the women’s competition, Voisin followed up her second place in Saturday’s slopestyle with another second. She had clinched her Olympic nomination after Saturday’s podium.

“Like yesterday, it’s still unexplainable,” said Voisin humbly, who is being touted as a major medal threat in Korea next month. “I just wanted to put down the run I did yesterday, but make small improvements—grab a little better, go a little bigger. The second run I put down felt like I did just that, so I am so happy, grateful and loving skiing more than ever.”

Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.) was just off the podium in fourth. Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.) was seventh and Caroline Claire (Edina, Minn.)

The final Olympic qualifiers go off this week at Mammoth Mountain, with the U.S. Olympic Team in freeski slopestyle and halfpipe named at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix next weekend.

RESULTS
Men’s and women's slopestyle

OLYMPIC STANDINGS
Men’s and women’s freeski 

Kasper Returns To Lead USA In Wengen Slalom

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
January, 14 2018
Kasper Wengen 1-14-18
Nolan Kasper finished 20th in his first World Cup race in two years in Wengen, Switzerland Sunday. (Getty images/Agence Zoom - Alexis Boichard)

Nolan Kasper’s long road of recovery is finally over, and just in time to give the men’s U.S. Ski Team tech squad, and his own Olympic aspirations, a much-needed boost.

Kasper (Warren, Vt.), competing in his first FIS Ski World Cup race in two years following a host of knee and hip surgeries, came from the 52nd start position on a rutted, icy slalom track to finish 20th in Wengen, Switzerland Sunday.

“I'm psyched to be back and having a second run again,” Kasper said. “This is a good as I could have hoped for. I knew I was skiing well, but we’re at the World Cup and these are the best guys.”

Skiing balanced and solid, Kasper took control in the first run, mastering the steep sections that took out numerous competitors before him, including teammates David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and AJ Ginnis (Vouliagmeni, Greece), and skied into the top 30, just ahead of Mark Engel (Truckee, Calif.) in 28th position.

“They injected the course yesterday and it held up pretty well, but you definitely get some grooves and bumps,” Kasper said. “They didn’t (groom) it after the combined (Friday), so there are some ruts in there from that slalom. But you just have to fight through it.”

Starting third in the second run, Kasper kept fighting and skied to his best World Cup result in three years. Austria’s Marcel Hirscher extended is overall World Cup lead with yet another slalom victory – his fifth of the season – as Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen finished second and Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was third.

In addition to surgeries and recovery over the past two years, Kasper returned to Dartmouth College to complete his degree in economics. He also interned for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, assisting with the Athlete Career & Education department and redesigning the new U.S. Ski & Snowboard website.

Up next, the men’s World Cup circuit returns to Kitzbuehel, Austria Jan. 19-21 with super-G, downhill and slalom races where Kasper will once again have the opportunity to state his case for becoming a member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team.

“Its always in the back of my mind,” Kasper said of the prospects of making his third Olympic team. “But it’s not for me to decide. I’m just going to go out and try and ski and have fun. My goals this year don’t change, I’m trying to go and prove to myself that I can be competitive and try and ski well. I just want to go out and have some fun and enjoy this year.”

RESULTS
Men’s slalom
 

Ross Leads Americans in Downhill

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
January, 14 2018
Ross 1-14-18
Laurenne Ross returned to downhill racing, finishing 11th, in Sunday’s FIS Ski World Cup in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Christophe Pallot)

Laurenne Ross (Bend. Ore.) competed in her first FIS Ski World Cup downhill after recovering from a severe knee injury suffered at the U.S. Alpine Championships last season and led the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 11th, in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria Sunday. Italy swept the podium with Sofia Goggia, Federica Brignone and Nadia Franchini going 1-2-3.

Weather issues hampered downhill training all week and continued into Sunday as light mist and fog forced FIS officials to move the downhill start down to the super-G start. The ladies also completed and abbreviated downhill training run prior to Sunday morning race. The race start was then delayed as course crews worked to smooth out the rough, icy track.

However, none of that seemed to faze Ross during her run as she charged down the course. But the sigh of relief after crossing the finish line told another story.

“Today was an extremely tough race,” Ross said. “These are the most difficult conditions I’ve skied in since I’ve been injured and to have to race in them was a really big challenge for me.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to race or not, but when I decided to go for it … I tried to charge and tried to be solid on the front of my skis,” she added. “It didn’t feel good, but I suppose nobody’s run felt that great. It’s a difficult hill and the conditions are kind of ridiculous.”

Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) provided another bright spot for the Americans as she posted her second top-20 result of the season in 16th. Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) was 18th; Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) 20th; and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) 22nd.

“I knew it was going to be a struggle this morning from the training run,” Vonn said. “Really poor visibility, pretty icy and bumpy conditions. I really had no grip on the ice and I felt like I was skiing on marbles.”

Up next, the women’s FIS World Cup circuit continues with super-G and downhill Jan. 20-21 in Cortina, Italy, where overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) is expected to compete.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

USA Sprints to Dresden Podium

By Tom Kelly
January, 14 2018
Team Sprint 1-14-18
Maja Dahlqvist of second team Sweden (right) celebrates as she crosses the finish line ahead of Stina Nilsson of first team Sweden and Sophie Caldwell of first USA team in the women's 6 x 1,3 km team sprint in Dresden, eastern Germany Sunday. (Getty Images/AFP - Robert Michael)

In front of huge crowds in the historic German city of Dresden, Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) and Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.) sprinted to third behind two powerhouse Swedish teams in a World Cup freestyle team sprint Sunday. It was a career-best match for Sargent. Italy beat Sweden for the men's victory.

The podium finish for Caldwell and Sargent matched their finish in the Olympic test event at Alpensia in PyeongChang, South Korea last February. The duo had been fifth in Planica, Slovenia a year earlier. Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) teamed up to finish eight for the women, as did Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) for the men.

In the second women's semi-final, it was an all USA show as Caldwell and Sargent took the win with Patterson and Randall right behind. In the final, it was a tight battle most of the way between Sweden, Germany and the USA's two teams plus Switzerland and Slovenia. Sargent handed off to Caldwell for the final leg with the Swiss in the lead. Caldwell worked her way through traffic on the short, flat sprint course to join the Swedes for a finish sprint.

"That was a really fun and exciting race and I'm so happy to be on the podium with Sophie," said Sargent. "The course was so fast so the pack stayed together. We tried to stay near the front and stay out of trouble."

The high speed of the course also created chaos in the tag zone. "We had a couple of rough tags where we lost a little time to the Swedes but luckily we stayed on our feet," said Sargent.

"It was another great day for our team," said Caldwell, who scored her second straight sprint podium. "Our goal was to stay towards the front, stay out of trouble, and save some legs for the last lap of each heat. I think we executed our plan really well and I was proud of how both Ida and I skied."

With Olympic qualifying now completed, the World Cup tour now heads to Planica, Slovenia for a weekend of classic sprint and distance. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) will rejoin the team after taking a one week break. The full Olympic team will be announced the week of January 22.

RESULTS
Men's Team Sprint 
Women's Team Sprint 

Voisin Clinches Olympic Team Nomination

By Courtney Harkins
January, 13 2018
USGP Podium 1-13-18
Maggie Voisin takes second place at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. (Getty Images-Matthew Stockman)

Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) took second place at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski slopestyle at Aspen-Snowmass, which clinched her spot in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Voisin was the youngest team member to be named in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, but broke her ankle during training just prior to the Olympic competition. Emotions came running back to her when she called her mother to tell her that she was named to another Olympic team.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t even explain it,” said Voisin. “I feel like it’s been a long four years since my last Olympic experience and just to lock it in today is emotional in the best way. I can’t believe I’m going back to my second Olympics with a little bit of redemption going into Korea. There’s just so much look forward to. Grateful.”

Voisin finished behind Johanne Killi of Norway and ahead of Isabel Atkin of Great Britain. The only other American woman in the finals was Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.), who finished sixth.

The men’s competition was hotly contested, with the top six skiers all scoring more than 90 points. McRae Williams (Park City, Utah) was in the running for a podium spot, but was bumped in the last run to fourth. Nineteen-year-old Andri Ragettli of Switzerland took the win, with Norwegians Ferdinand Dahl and Oystein Braaten in second and third.  

Competing in his second World Cup event, Quinn Wolferman (Missoula, Mont.) finished ninth. The North Face Rookie Team member Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.) was 14th.

The men and women contest another slopestyle Sunday, which is also an Olympic selection event.

RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle
Women’s slopestyle

OLYMPIC STANDINGS
Men’s and women’s slopestyle

White Lands Perfect Run To Clinch Olympic Selection

By Tom Kelly
January, 13 2018
Shaun White
The masked man Shaun White celebrates his perfect score to earn a fourth Olympic Team spot. (Getty Images-Sean Haffey)

Two-time Olympic champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) rose up to the challenge of making the Olympic Team with a definitive perfect winning run to lead a trio of Americans onto the 2018 Olympic Team Saturday at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen-Snowmass.

"It's been all about making the Olympic team and after having had a poor finish at the Dew Tour, it put a lot of pressure on me for the win at this event," White said. "And that was my goal - to win this thing!"

Sitting ninth out of 10 after his first run, White came back on his third and final run to score a perfect 100 to take the World Cup win over Australia's Scotty James in second and Yuto Totsuka of Japan in third. Americans Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.) and 2016 Youth Olympic Games champion Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.) were fourth and fifth respectively. White, Furguson, and Pates all clinched spots on the Olympic Team with one selection event remaining. This will be White's fourth Olympic Winter Games dating back to the 2006 Games when he won gold in the halfpipe.

White nailed his perfect run with a frontside 1440 to cab double 1080, frontside 540, tomahawk and a frontside double 1260 - a trick he had worked on to clean it up over the last couple of weeks.

“Man, I’m tripping out,” said White. “What a day.”

White had strong practice runs but had a leg tighten up heading into the competition. His first run was a wash and he missed a landing on the second. On the outside looking in, White dropped in one final time for his third run and nailed it.

“For the third run it was this huge debate (with myself),” he said. “It’s like, ‘do you play it safe and make the Olympic team or do you try to win it?’”

At the top, White took his time as options raced through his mind. With encouragement from his coaches, he launched one of his sport’s best runs ever.

“I’m just so stoked and then I got a 100 man,” said White. “That was unreal. I was almost in tears, man, I shed a couple.”

White served notice when he launched a YOLO early in his run - a 1440 move that includes two head-over-heels flips and two 360-degree turns. He stuck it perfectly, then launching a cab double 10, wrapping up with double 12s - a McTwist 1260 and a front double 12.

“That was a cool one because I’d reworked that trick the second day of practice here,” said White.

The win clinched White’s spot for an unprecedented fourth Olympics. 

“For sure, I mean it’s so exciting to be around this long,” said White, who is looking forward to returning to PyeongChang where he finished second to Australia’s Scotty James last year. “The test event was amazing. I’m so excited. I’m just going to take this run I’m doing now and just build – get it bigger, better, more technical tricks.”

In the women's halfpipe, Spain's Queralt Castellet took the win with Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) top American in second ahead of Maddie Mastro (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) in third and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, Vt.) fourth.

Kim’s second-place run included an air front 10 tail, cab seven indie, front five McTwist.

With the Olympic Team already achieved, Kim contemplated the best approach to the event in Aspen-Snowmass. 

“The pipe was a little tricky here and everyone was kind of struggling, so I just wanted to challenge myself, said Kim. “I wanted to put down a run that’s normally pretty easy for me in these conditions and I was able to do that. So, I’m pretty hyped. I’m looking forward to Mammoth now and it will be a good time.”

With Kim the only one to clinch a spot on the Olympic Team, Mastro heads to Mammoth Mountain next weekend with a continuing mission. “I’m really happy with how I’m riding and where I’m moving and the direction of my snowboarding,” said Mastro. “I just hope it keeps snowballing and rolling forward and I just keep climbing and climbing.”

Mastro put down a front nine, back five, front seven, Haakon, crippler and method to close.

Two spots via objective criteria remain open for the women's Olympic Team with Mastro, Clark and Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) all in contention. While the three men's objective criteria spots are now filled, a fourth discretionary spot may still be available with a host of men vying for the potential opportunity.

​​​​​​RESULTS
Men's World Cup Halfpipe
Women's World Cup Halfpipe 
 

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Jan. 14
3:00 p.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – nbcsports.com
3:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

Jan. 15
1:30 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – NBCSN

Jan. 16
12:00 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – NBCSN
 

Caldwell Podium in City Sprint

By Tom Kelly
January, 13 2018
Dresden Sprint
Sophie Caldwell (middle) picks her way through the field in the Dresden city sprint. (Getty Images/AFP - Robert Michael)

Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) charged through a traffic jam of Swedes to finish third in a photo finish at a freestyle city sprint in the historic city of Dresden, Germany. Sweden's Hanna Falk skied with a vengeance to pickup her first World Cup win in eight years.

Caldwell, who qualified 11th, moved into the finals with a lucky loser finish in the semifinals. One of the shortest and flattest sprint courses ever, the Dresden track was an all-out sprint from start to finish. Falk led the Swedes out of the gate at a torrid pace. Caldwell was slow getting out but held with the pack, moving quickly up into position.

Just past the midway point, Sweden's Stina Nilsson crashed hard just in front of Caldwell, who navigated around and used the incident to burst up into the front half of the pack. "The crash happened right in front of me," said Caldwell, "but I managed to avoid it and then put in a big push to maintain contact with the leaders."

It was a great return to the World Cup from Caldwell who had dropped out of the Tour de Ski a week ago with illness. "I was really happy with today," she said. "It was a course unlike any we’ve ever skied before being the flattest and shortest race I’ve ever done. It was important to get in a good position from the beginning and I did a decent job of that in my quarter final and semi final, but got off to a bit of a slow start in the final. I tried to stay patient and make moves where I could."

The podium moved Caldwell into third in the FIS World Cup sprint rankings. A team sprint is set for Sunday. It was the last World Cup race of the Olympic selection period with Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) all confirming team spots with top 50 sprint rankings.

RESULTS
Men's Sprint 
Women's Sprint
 

Bennett Top American In Lauberhorn Downhill

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
January, 13 2018
Bennett 1-13-18
Bryce Bennet led the way for the U.S. Ski Tea, finishing 17th on the famed Lauberhorn downhill course at Wengen, Switzerland Saturday. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom – Fabrice Coffrini)

For the second-straight day, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led the way for the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 17th on the famed Lauberhorn downhill course at Wengen, Switzerland Saturday.

For any fans that arrived, or tuned in late, they missed the show as Switzerland’s Beat Fuez came out of the No. 1 start position and took home the victory. Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal was second, followed by Austria’s Matthias Mayer in third.

Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah), competing in only his second downhill since returning from a knee injury, had some blazing top fast splits and made a miraculous recovery off the final jump and finished 28th. Kipling Weisel (San Francisco, Calif.) made his World Cup downhill debut and finished 52nd. Jared Goldberg crashed midway down the course, but is OK.

Bennett secured his Olympic Team selection Friday after finishing ninth in the alpine combined. However, he still has a shot to make the downhill team for the Games with a solid result next weekend in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

“The pressure is still on to throw some results down in downhill,” Bennett said. “I want to compete in downhill (at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games). I think I’m skiing well, and I could have a good chance there if I keep skiing the way I am.”

Up next, the men compete in slalom Sunday in Wengen, where Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.) will return after being sidelined from competition for two entire seasons. His last World Cup start was Schladming, Austria on January 27, 2015. Kasper has one career podium from 2011 and has worked extremely hard to come back from injuries.

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 13
10:00 p.m. – Women’s Super-G; Bad Kleinkirchheim – NBCSN (same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Sunday, Jan. 14
4:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Wengen –olympicchannel.com
5:00 a.m. – Women’s downhill; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV