DAVOS, Switzerland (Dec. 8, 2017) - When the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team rolled into Davos, Switzerland for the FIS Cross Country World Cup this weekend, it was rolling in style. Thanks to a network of dedicated supporters in America, the team has rolled out its new wax truck providing stronger technical support to athletes and a healthier atmosphere for ski technicians.

The new truck was introduced in Finland and Norway for the opening World Cup events that saw U.S. skiers Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins, and Sophie Caldwell post top results, thanks in part to the new mobile waxing facility. This weekend the truck made the long trip from Lillehammer, Norway down to Davos for a weekend of racing including freestyle sprints Saturday and distance racing on Sunday. Diggins will be among favorites in both events, with equally strong chances coming in the women's Sprint F on Saturday and the 10k freestyle on Sunday.

The U.S. Ski Team will hold an open house and celebration for its fans and donors following Sunday's races to showcase the new truck.

The new wax truck will sit side-by-side with similar vehicles from other major cross country nations including Norway, Sweden, Canada and more. The truck will provide over 48 square meters of working space with eight main waxing stations. The main waxing room has ski storage for 600 pair of skis, saving team staff hundreds of hours they had spent moving gear from rental trucks to wax rooms every weekend. A pull out porch is available for kick waxing in colder temperatures with a roof to protect against falling snow.

A central vacuum system helps technicians keep the environment clean and safe, with three different heating systems to manage temperatures. A custom crew cab features five seats and a bed for long drives between Scandinavia and Central Europe. Tunes will play on a built-in sound system equipped with Bose speakers, one of the team's top partners. The truck was built in Sweden.

The exterior of the truck features action photography of some of the team's leading athletes, a tribute panel thanking donors and the logo of team uniform supplier L.L.Bean. 

"This is a game changer for us in providing the best support for our athletes and a better working atmosphere for our technicians," said Head Coach Chris Grover. "It also illustrates the passion of our fans back in America who raised over $600,000 to make this possible."

Working out of tiny wax cabins in the past, the U.S. Ski Team had become accustomed to small space with its technicians working miracles to prep winning skis. The new truck will provide a much more productive environment for ski preparation.

"The wax truck will make a huge difference for our team this year," said world champion Jessie Diggins. "Having all our wax technicians in the same room means that communication will be instant and easy when waxes are changing on race day. The outside of the truck is a clean, professional design that both inspires and motivates us, and is a really exciting thing for new athletes to the World Cup when they come over to race!" 

"I don’t know if it’s the magic of the truck but it’s definitely been an amazing start to the season with our skis compared to everyone else," said Bjornsen, who stands seventh in the World Cup going into the Davos weekend. "We’re operating best in the world and I have to thank the truck for that."

The truck was made possible thanks to a grassroots fundraising campaign conducted by U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation trustee Liz Arky of Washington, D.C. who heads the team's advisory committee.

"Our American cross country fans, and my fellow Trustees, are extremely proud of our athletes and wanted to do something significant to help them achieve their dreams," said Arky. 

"We have been looking forward to this for years and are so thankful to our supporters and donors for getting us on a level playing field with the rest of the world," added Kikkan Randall, who planted the seed for the truck several years ago and made a special appeal to the Trustees.

The truck was rolled out at the team's final on-snow tuneup camp in Rovaniemi in mid-November. It then traveled to World Cups in Ruka, Finland and Lillehammer, Norway before journeying down to Davos.

Ruka, FINLAND (Dec. 6, 2017) – The 2017-18 FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup is set to kick off this weekend in the winter wonderland of Ruka, Finland. The U.S. has 12 athletes competing against a strong contingent of international skiers for the first podiums of the season. Men’s and women’s qualifications and finals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9.

With it being the first World Cup of the season, any one of the U.S. Ski Team athletes have a chance to notch a top result. Ruka is one of seven World Cup competitions this season that will be taken into consideration when nominating the team for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Mikaela Matthews (Frisco, Colo.) have both previously podiumed on the fun but challenging course in Ruka. Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) and Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) will be looking to start the season off strong after posting career-best seasons in 2016-17.

Read on to see who to watch and where to watch all the action from Ruka.

MEN’S STARTERS
Joel Hedrick
Troy Murphy
Tom Rowley
Emerson Smith
Troy Tully
Brad Wilson

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Olivia Giaccio
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Mikaela Matthews
Keaton McCargo
Morgan Schild

HOW TO WATCH (times EST)
Saturday, Dec. 9
9:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – olympicchannel.com

11:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes posted some remarkable results last weekend as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) continued to establish herself as one of the most dominant athletes in any sport in the world, landing two downhill podiums, including her first win, in Lake Louise, Canada. Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) skied to another podium finish in a classic sprint in Lillehammer, Norway, and the U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine athletes took to the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, where Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led the charge in giant slalom and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) skied to his first top-10 World Cup finish.

More top results will be accomplished this week as U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes compete around the world, including the first stop of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, which also serves the  first Olympic qualification event of the season for members of the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams. All the action will be either streamed or broadcast LIVE, or same-day coverage, on the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - or on the networks of NBC Friday through Sunday.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Copper Mountain, Colo.
The ride to PyeongChang for the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams continues this week with the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the 2017-18 season at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. U.S. athletes who land podium spots in halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and big air snowboarding competitions will be one step closer to making their respective 2018 Olympic teams. Halfpipe skiing finals will take place on Friday, followed by halfpipe snowboarding finals on Saturday and big air snowboarding finals on Sunday. The U.S. has a strong contingent of athletes expected to compete, including Chloe Kim (San Clemente, Calif.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.).

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - St. Moritz, SUI
The U.S. Alpine Ski Team women head to Europe for an action-packed weekend in St. Mortiz, featuring an alpine combined event Friday, and a pair of super-G races Saturday and Sunday. Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) are among the athletes expected to race in an action-packed weekend that will attract millions of viewers worldwide.

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Val d’Isere, FRA
The U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine tech group, including Ligety and Ford, will race giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Ruka, FIN
The U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes kick off their World Cup season this weekend with a moguls competition in the winter wonderland of Ruka, Finland. The U.S. is starting six men and six women who will all have a chance to secure a top result in the first of seven competitions being considered in selection for the 2018 Olympic team.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Val Thorens, FRA
The ski cross World Cup tour opens with a two-race weekend in Val Thorens Thursday and Saturday. U.S. athletes Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Whitney Gardner (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will be competing. Crossan was fifth in Tuesday’s training runs.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Davos, SUI
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team will join their alpine teammates in Switzerland for a weekend of freestyle races. Freestyle sprints will take place Saturday, followed by a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men on Sunday. Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN), who finished a pair of top-five results in Davos last year, will be on the hunt for her first podium of the season.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Titisee-Neustadt, GER
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah) is coming off a strong weekend of competition where he placed 21st in a World Cup in Russia, a personal best, and the best result for an American athlete on the men’s World Cup since 2003. Rhoads will be joined by USA Nordic Teammates Kevin Bickner (Wacounda, Ill.) and Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.) for another weekend of ski jumping action Friday through Sunday.

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD BROADCAST AND STREAMING SCHEDULE
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Dec. 8
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com

Dec. 9
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
4:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (same day delay)

Dec. 10
1:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBC (next day delay)
8:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – NBCSN (same day delay)

ALPINE
Dec. 8
4:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/super-G; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
7:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/slalom; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
8:00 a.m. – Women’s combined; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 9
3:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:45 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – olympicchannel.com
6:30 a.m.  – Men’s giant slalom run 2; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
7:30 a.m.  – Women’s super-G; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
3:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 2; Val d’Isere –  Olympic Channel TV

FREESTYLE
Dec. 7
5:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
7:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com
9:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – olympicchannel.com
11:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

CROSS COUNTRY
Dec. 9
7:15 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
5:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle –Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

SKI JUMPING
Dec. 8
6:00 a.m. – Men’s HS142 qualifications – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Team HS142 – olympicchannel.com
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Team HS142  – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
7:45 a.m. – Men’s HS142 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 p.m. – Men’s HS142 – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

The following is a statement from U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw regarding the IOC decision on Russia participation in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018:

 "U.S. Ski & Snowboard applauds the decision of the IOC today as it demonstrates a strong commitment to the importance of clean sport and the support of clean athletes. On behalf of our athletes, we have a fundamental obligation to fight for fairness in sport, to advocate for the health and welfare of athletes and to protect the image of our sport. Now we look to the International Ski Federation (FIS) to hold a FIS Council meeting to review the IOC’s decision and related evidence to consider its impact on the Russian Ski Association, its FIS committee members, officials and athletes." 

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Dec. 5, 2017) – The ride to PyeongChang for the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams continues this week with the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the 2017-18 season at Copper Mountain Resort. U.S. athletes who land podium spots in halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and big air snowboarding competitions will be one step closer to making their respective Olympic teams.

Skiers will take to Copper’s Main Vein halfpipe on Friday, Dec. 8 for their second of five Olympic qualifying events. The U.S. Freeski Team expects to have more than 25 athletes competing in Copper along with a strong international field. Olympic Champion Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.), Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) and Taylor Seaton (Avon, Colo.) all landed podium spots at the first qualifying event last season in Mammoth Mountain, California. They will be back for more in Copper along with U.S. stars David Wise (Reno, Nev.), Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) and Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.).

“I’m excited to start off a crazy year of competition at Copper Mountain,” said Yater-Wallace. “They’ve done a great job preparing the halfpipe given that there’s been almost no snow in November, so I’m feeling fortunate to have an opportunity to ski and compete with my friends. It's going to take some great skiing to do well with the international field that's headed to Copper, especially with it being a World Cup and a U.S. Olympic qualification event."

Copper will be the first of four qualifying events for U.S. Snowboard Team halfpipe riders. After being too young to attempt to qualify in 2014, 17-year-old Chloe Kim (La Palma, Calif.) is in the hunt for a top result to begin the journey to her first Olympic Winter Games, while three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) is looking to make her fifth Olympic team. On the men’s side, two-time Olympic champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) is expected to compete against a stacked field that includes fellow U.S. athletes Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) as well as Australia’s Scotty James and Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov. Finals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9.

The weekend wraps up with big air snowboarding finals on Sunday, Dec. 10. After a successful inaugural competition last season, Copper is once again pulling out all the stops for a world-class big air venue right in the resort village. Sunday’s event is the second of five Olympic qualifying competitions for U.S. slopestyle/big air riders. Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.), Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.) will be looking to add more top finishes after claiming podium spots at the first qualifying event in Mammoth last season. Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) are also in the hunt.

“The more big air events I enter the more stoked I am to do them,” said Gerard. “Coming off a podium sweep in Milan with Kyle [Mack] and Chris [Corning], I’m pretty fired up to go to Copper for the only big air Olympic qualifier of the season. I think the format, in which you have to qualify in slopestyle as well as big air, is super key as it makes the overall best riders get the results they need to go to Korea. I got to ride a ton this fall and I’m stoked now to get into the real winter, to ride, compete and film.”

NBC Sports Group will feature comprehensive coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain with shows airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network, The Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and streaming on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Event Schedule
*subject to change

Dec. 6: Halfpipe skiing qualifications
Dec. 7: Halfpipe snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 8: Halfpipe skiing finals + big air snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 9: Halfpipe snowboarding finals
Dec. 10: Big air snowboarding finals

Broadcast and Streaming Schedule (times EST)
*subject to change
Dec. 8
1 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com

Dec. 9
1 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
4 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC

Dec. 10
1 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
1 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBC
8 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – NBCSN

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (Dec. 3, 2017) – The fans at Beaver Creek were happy to cheer Ted Ligety’s return to giant slalom racing on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit Sunday, but Ligety was disappointed he didn’t deliver on one of his favorite tracks for the home crowd.

“I love racing here, this is one of my favorite hills, and that’s a big reason why I’m disappointed with seventh place today,” Ligety said. “It’s far and away the worst finish I’ve ever had at Beaver Creek.”

Competing in his first World Cup giant slalom in almost a year, Ligety (Park City, Utah) led the U.S. Ski Team alpine racers in seventh. Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.), starting bib 24, posted his first top-10 World Cup finish in 10th. Marcel Hirscher of Austria, the six-time overall World Cup champion, took the victory Sunday. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen was second and Germany’s Stefan Luitz was third.

Ligety finished second in the first run and was well positioned to challenge for his sixth giant slalom victory on the grippy Birds of Prey course. But one too many errors in the second run opened the door for the rest of the field.

“First run didn’t feel great, but I was in there and had some turns,” Ligety said. “The second run, I had some good turns here and there, but way too many little mistakes for this kind of aggressive snow.”

Meanwhile, Ford occupied the hot seat for quite a while - posting the 10th-fastest second run time - as a number of racers failed to unseat him.

“I was going down the hill from top to bottom and it was cool to do some good arcs,” Ford said. “The snow is awesome, so everyone is skiing well, and that’s what makes (this hill) challenging.”

The men’s World Cup circuit returns to Europe with slalom and giant slalom races in Val d’Isere, France Dec. 9-10, followed by super-G and downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 15-16.

RESULTS
Men’s Giant Slalom

LAKE LOUSE, AB (Dec. 3, 2017) – Fresh off her two downhill podium performances, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) continued to prove she is the best skier in the world, finishing fifth in the super-G Sunday at Lake Louise and building upon her overall World Cup lead.

“It was a very, very great weekend,” said Shiffrin, who has finished in the top five of all seven World Cup races so far this season. She extended her overall World Cup lead over Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg, who finished 13th Sunday, to 174 points. “I had a pretty big mistake in the middle section, and a couple spots where I felt like I wasn’t so clean, but with that in mind, to come in fifth place is very satisfying.”

Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein took her sixth career World Cup super-G victory Sunday. Swiss Lara Gut proved she has rebounded from last season’s knee injury, finishing second, and Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer jumped on the podium for the third time in her career, finishing third.

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) leaned in and slid out, DNFing for the second time this weekend at Lake Louise. Breezy Johnson (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) rebounded from her DNF in Saturday’s downhill to finish 25th. Alice McKennis (New Castle, Colo.) was 29th. Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) was 35th and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) was 40th.

“I have to say it’s really, really exciting to race in speed (events) … the biggest thing for me these last few days has been to find the mentality that I can be aggressive and let it go at the same time,” said Shiffrin. “Otherwise, I’m always thinking ‘Oh, I can’t wait to race slalom and GS again!’”

The women’s World Cup tour moves back to Europe with super-G and alpine combined events at St. Moritz, Switzerland, Dec. 8-10. Shiffrin gets her chance to race slalom and giant slalom again in Courchevel, France, Dec. 19-20.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

LILLEHAMMER, Norway (Dec. 3, 2017) - Weekend two of the FIS Cross Country World Cup wrapped up Sunday in Lillehammer with a series of career bests for the U.S. Ski Team led by Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) finishing fifth in a skiathlon. Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) continued her strong season in 10th while brother Erik had a personal best in the men’s race at 20th.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won his fifth straight race to remain unbeaten, while Charlotte Kalla of Sweden took a solid victory for the women. Skiathlon is a unique event combining classic technique for the first half, a pit stop to change skis then a final segment of freestyle technique. The discipline is an Olympic event, with Diggins checking off another top-eight Olympic qualifying finish.

Diggins started out the classic segment in the back of the chase group, working her way up by the midway point of the 7.5k leg to battle for third. She made the turn into freestyle in third, just ahead of Finland’s Krista Parmakoski but 21 seconds behind the battle between Kalla and Norway’s Heidi Weng.

In the skate leg, Norway’s Magnhild Haga burst out of the chase pack to put herself into third. Diggins stayed with the chase group, with Norway’s Marit Bjoergen bursting out into fourth while Diggins held the others at bay to claim fifth.

“I was really happy with today,” said Diggins. “Our classic skis were amazing and I think that’s the smoothest and strongest I’ve ever classic skied yet! In the skate I felt good and am still working on building my top race gear as we get into the season.”

The classic performance of the team continued to be a major storyline, especially with the strength shown by Diggins. Sadie Bjornsen, who has been a strong classic skier and is now elevating herself up in the rankings, hung in the middle of the chase group much of the race to finish 10th. It was a career best for her in the Olympic skiathlon distance. 

“Another great day in Lillehammer for me,” said Bjornsen, who was third in the classic sprint on Saturday. “The race started with a nice fiery hot pace, as the girls took off super hard from the line. I tend to prefer classic skiing, so I wanted to try to stay in contact during the classic section, and hold on for the skate portion of today's race.”

The closure was rugged with four trips up a huge climb. “I knew I didn't want to redline too early on, but keep some control for the skating section of the race,” added Bjornsen. “I struggled at the beginning of the race to set in with the hot pace, but managed to find my gears by the end.”

Bjornsen struggled to find the gears at the start of the skate leg but got back on track.

Sadie’s brother Erik had a career best day in the men’s 15k/15k finishing 20th - his first World Cup points in skiathlon. Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.) was also in the points. Hoffman had finished top-10 in the Olympic test event skiathlon.

"I’m very happy with today's result," said Erik Bjornsen. "It was fun last weekend to feel like I was in the mix for both sprinting and distance skiing. After missing out on the heats yesterday, and getting beat by 13 Norwegians I was out to get some redemption today. I felt great in the classic and was trying to hold myself back from chasing the leaders. I’m sure I could have kept up with them for 15k but the last half of the race would have been a disaster."

Erik Bjornsen, who admits 30k races used to scare him, skied a smart race to get a career best. It was his fourth points-scoring finish in five races this season.

Sadie Bjornsen now stands seventh in the overall World Cup standings after five events, with Diggins in 10th.

“Jessie had one of her best classic races ever to keep her in a battle for the podium the entire race,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “She never relented in the face of the powerhouse Norwegian team and their home crowd and fans.”

Grover also cited Sadie Bjornsen for her second strong weekend. “Both Jessie and Sadie have clearly made a step forward and are proving once again that they are a threat in every event.

Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) moved up steadily in the skate leg to finish 16th.

Grover was also thrilled with Erik Bjornsen’s performance. “He was strong in classic, which is normally his best technique, but equally strong in skate and moved up several spots in the skate leg.” Grover also acknowledged a strong skate leg from Hoffman.

“The Team is really looking forward to getting Davos - our home away from home,” he added. The formats in Davos, skate sprint and skate distance, are ideal for the U.S. Ski Team.”

The team now heads to Davos, Switzerland for a full on freestyle weekend. Saturday is a freestyle sprint (not an Olympic discipline in 2018) plus a men’s 15k and women’s 10k freestyle. Diggins will be among the favorites in the 10k freestyle at the Olympics this February in PyeongChang.

LAKE LOUSE, AB (Dec. 2, 2017) - Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) may have found a new favorite pair of Atomic skis, albeit just slightly longer than her previous favorite pair, after riding the long boards to her first career FIS Ski World Cup downhill victory Saturday.

With her win on the Olympic Downhill course and her slalom victory last weekend in Killington, Vermont Shiffrin proved that she is the best ski racer in the world six World Cup races into the Olympic season. The defending World Cup champion also extended her overall World Cup lead over Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg to 149 points. This must now raise the question, is Mikaela Shiffrin the most dominant athlete in the world right now?

"I've skied here a couple times now, so I felt Lake Louise was a really good opportunity for me because I have some experience on the track," said Shiffrin. "I wasn't planning to win, but I was planning to come here, do my best and see what happened."

"Shortneing the distance was definitely an advantage for me because it's flat on the top section and I'm not as good up there. From where we started today, it's fairly technical. I felt really good about that yesterday, so I took even more risk today and it paid off. I know that I was lucky with conditions yesterday and today, but I skied well and took some risk and it was really fun." 

Rebensburg, the winner of the first two World Cup giant slalom races of the season, including last weekend in Killington, finished second Saturday. Swiss Michelle Gisin moved up from her eighth-place finish in Friday’s downhill, to round out the podium in third. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, the winner of Friday’s downhill in Lake Louise, was fourth.

Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) posted another top-10 result at Lake Louise, finishing sixth. Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) rebounded from Friday’s crash to finish 12th. Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) was 23rd and Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO) was 35th and Alice Merryweather (Hingman, MA) was 37th. Breezy Johnson (Jackson Hole, WY) was on her way to another top-20 finish but slid out halfway down the track.

Saturday’s race was delayed one hour and 15 minutes due to a sub-station fire that knocked out power to the resort. Fortunately, the athletes were towed to the start thanks to a fleet of Prinoth snowcats at the resort.

World Cup racing continues Sunday with the super G at Lake Louise.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

Dec. 3
1:00 p.m. – Women’s super-G – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 p.m. – Women’s super-G – NBCSN (same day delay)

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (Dec. 2, 2017) - Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA) led the way for the American Downhillers in 21st at the Bird of Prey FIS Ski World Cup downhill Saturday in Beaver Creek. Norway’s Ansel Lund Svindal took the victory, followed by Swiss Beat Feuz in second and Thomas Dressen of Germany in third.

Starting with bib 1, Svindal nailed his lines down the challenging, sun-splashed course for his 13th career World Cup downhill victory. Dressen, coming out of the 10th start position, grabbed his first career World Cup downhill podium result.

Other American finishers included Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) and Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) tied for 30th. Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, NY) in 39th; Wiley Maple (Aspen, CO) in 50th; Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) in 54th; and Sam Morse (Sugarloaf, ME) in 57th.

Watch same-day coverage of the men’s downhill at 5:00 p.m. EST on NBC

The Bird of Prey wraps up Sunday with a giant slalom. Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), who has won an unprecedented six times on the Birds of Prey track, will lead the Americans.

RESULTS
Men’s Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST
Saturday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s downhill – NBC (same day delay)

Sunday, Dec. 3
11:45 a.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom run 1 – NBC Sports App/nbcsports.com – LIVE
2:30 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom run 2 – Olympic Channel TV – LIVE
5:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom – NBC (same day delay)