When the FIS Freestyle aerials World Cup kicks off this weekend in Secret Garden, China, all eyes will be on reigning World Cup champion Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) as she begins the journey to make her third Olympic team. U.S. Ski & Snowboard caught up with Ashley before she left for China to talk about the two training camps she participated in this fall and how she’s feeling heading into this Olympic season.

With pre-season on-snow camps, what is your strategy as far as progression goes? Is the goal to be landing your biggest tricks before the first World Cups?

The pre-season camps we did in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Ruka, Finland were incredible for this season's preparation period. Usually, before the first World Cup of the season, our team rushes through tricks in order to get up to the degree of difficulty tricks that we need to compete. Not only is this dangerous and scary, but it’s also unproductive. As an aerialist, it is important to nail the basic tricks before moving on to harder jumps. My strategy during these camps was to nail some of my basic tricks and feel confident when I get to my highest degree of difficulty. My goal isn't to peak at the first World Cups. I'd like to be doing some of my easier triples. Then, when I start to feel good, I will begin doing my biggest tricks, probably heading into the Deer Valley and Lake Placid World Cups in January in front of the home fans.
 

 

Still pretty happy for seeing the sun. But also for all the incredible people that I have in my life. I feel not only thankful but fortunate. Sending lots of love home from Finland! 📷 @emilycook02 • • • #thanksgiving #thankful #grateful #sendinglove #sunnydays #happy #smile #winterwonderland #snowglobe

A post shared by Ashley Caldwell (@ashleyskis93) on Nov 23, 2017 at 11:57am PST

What were some cool aspects of the camps in Saas Fee and Ruka? What made you enjoy each one?

Both locations were beautiful. We got to experience both locations but also made sure that we focused on our jumping and our physical fitness during these camps. I loved the town of Saas-Fee, just walking around and hiking was incredible. The jumping site in Saas-Fee was smaller than most World Cup sites, which made it perfect for our first singles and doubles of the season. Ruka was like living in a snow globe made for World Cup skiers. The training was superb and the environment was focused. Also, both places had really great food...especially cookies!

 

Missing the sunny beautiful @saasfee! 😎 📷 @mnorthrop16 • • • #smile #gobigorgohome #jump #mountains @mtnchicks #sunshine #fallphotoshoot @oakleyskiing #smile #switzerland #getoutside #igobig #missingsummer @outsidemagazine

A post shared by Ashley Caldwell (@ashleyskis93) on Nov 10, 2017 at 10:38am PST

How hard is it mentally preparing to jump in a new location?

It can be a little nerve-racking showing up to a site that you have never been to before. Every hill in the world has a little different profile. The angles and dimensions of each site fall within a scope but can vary enough to make your eyes wide at first glance. Luckily for us, we can start with easier tricks to get used to a new site.

 

Training going awesome in Finland! Olympic year gotta send new tricks! 📷 @mbohonnon • • • #girlswithguts #crash #skiing #failfriday #triplebackflip #freerideskiing #testedtough #notit #whoops #training #girlathlete #aerials

A post shared by Ashley Caldwell (@ashleyskis93) on Nov 24, 2017 at 10:45am PST

You posted a video of a pretty epic crash from Ruka. Walk us through what happened in that jump and how you prepared yourself to get back up and do it again.

Despite popular belief, it’s almost impossible to land backward on an aerials site due to the degree of the slope of the landing. In Ruka, on my first days of triples, I messed up one of my tricks and landed - safely - backward. I didn't ski away, but that would have been cool.

What had happened in the trick is that I got a little confused and almost went for a bigger trick, a lay-full-full. I quickly realized my mistake and then got a little out of place in the air. I have a lot of trampoline background so I felt pretty comfortable looking at the ground and putting my feet down even though it was the wrong direction.

Our sport is scary and dangerous, so when you mess up a trick that bad it can be mentally challenging. My mental strategy to handle fear looks the same most time: acknowledge the fear, make fun of the fear, realize you've been successful after crashes and fear before, then go have fun and enjoy overcoming another one of sport's challenges.

With two on-snow camps under your belt (way more than last year ha), how are you feeling heading into China?

Despite a crazy landing in Ruka, I feel pretty good heading into China. I haven't done all the tricks that I need to do, but I have logged more snow time than any other year heading into these first World Cups. I have a lot of work to get done this year, but our whole team is off to an incredible start.

VAL THORENS, France (Dec. 13, 2017) – Five-time snowboardcross World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, Vt.) rode to her second victory of the 2017-18 season in Val Thorens, putting her in good form to make the Olympic team for PyeongChang 2018. Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, Utah) finished just off the podium in fourth. 

After battling difficult weather conditions during qualifications, the women had good conditions for Wednesday's finals. Jacobellis was ranked first coming into the final race and maintained a solid lead to claim victory over France's Chloe Trespeuch in second and Italy's Michela Moioli in third. Gulini was in podium contention until she caught an edge near the end of the course.

“I'm really happy that the course was working well today,” said Jacobellis. "Normally everyone loves snow being a winter sport athlete but actually it was very challenging here as it makes the course so slow. The past days it was hard for the women as we couldn't clear the landings but today was good.”

“I was just trying to get in where I could, and I knew some of the style of the ladies, so I tried to anticipate that and try to set up for the hard turns like turn five. I wanted to get at least enough space between me and them, and it all went down.”

On the men's side, Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.) were the lone U.S. athletes to advance to quarterfinals, finishing ninth and 14th respectively. Germany's Paul Berg took the win, followed by Australia's Adam Lambert in second and Spain's Lucas Eguibar in third. 

The FIS Snowboard snowboardcross World Cup continues this week with individual and team events in Montafon, Austria Dec. 16-17.

RESULTS
Women's Snowboardcross
Men's Snowboarcross

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes landed 10 podiums at the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic qualification events of the season last weekend in Copper Mountain, Colorado, including wins from halfpipe masters David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.).

The women’s U.S. Cross Country Ski Team continued to show depth with impressive results in Davos, Switzerland, including a podium from World Champion Kikkan Randall. The moguls team kicked off their season advancing five women into finals, with World Championship bronze medalist Jaelin Kauf notching a fifth-place finish.

With just under two months to go until the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, read on to see where the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team will be in action this week and how to watch via NBC, NBCSN and the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - as America’s best skiers and snowboarders continue to vie for spots on their respective Olympic teams.

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - Val d’Isere, FRA / Courchevel, FRA
The U.S. Ski Team women’s speed team continues the European leg of the FIS Ski World Cup this weekend in Val d’Isere Dec. 16-17 with downhill and super-G races. The deeply talented women’s speed team will be out in full force, including Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) and more. Though Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) has arrived to Val d’Isere, she has yet to make a decision about whether or not she’ll kick out of the start gate this weekend, due to spinal joint dysfunction sustained in Saturday’s super-G. Stay tuned. Then, on Monday the tech women head to Courchevel for a giant slalom and a parallel slalom under the lights, led by current overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) and Resi Stiegler (Jackson, Wyo.).

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Val Gardena, ITA / Alta Badia, ITA
The men’s speed and tech teams are in action this weekend with downhill and super-G races in Val Gardena Dec. 15-16 and a giant slalom and nighttime parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia Dec. 17-18. U.S. Ski Team athletes expected to compete in Italy include Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.), and more. Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) has yet to decide if he’ll kick out of the start gate on the famed Saslong classic downhill—a track he knows and loves, and where he’s won all three of his FIS Ski World Cup victories.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Secret Garden, CHN
The U.S. Ski Team aerials athletes kick off their World Cup season with an individual and team event Dec. 16-17 at Secret Garden resort, a site for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Nine U.S. athletes are expected to compete, including reigning World Champions Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) and Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) as well as 2015 World Cup champions Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) and Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.).

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Montafon, AUT
After wrapping up a race in Arosa, Switzerland on Dec. 12, U.S. athletes Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Whitney and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) move on to their third World Cup of the season in Montafon.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Toblach, ITA
The men’s and women’s cross country World Cup tour continues Dec. 16-17 with freestyle and classic pursuit races. The U.S. Ski Team is coming off another solid weekend with three women making the freestyle sprint finals in Davos, including a podium from Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) posting his first top-10 finish of the season.

FIS Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Hinterzarten, GER
After a week off, Abby Ringquist, Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, Utah), Nina Lussi, Nita Englund and Tara Geraghty-Moats will compete Dec. 16-17 in one team and one individual event. The American women will return to the U.S. this month for U.S. Olympic Trials Dec. 30-31.

FIS Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Engelberg, SUI
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah), Mike Glasder (Cary, Ill.) and Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) will compete in two individual HS140 events. Qualifications are on Dec. 15 with finals Dec. 16-17.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Ramsau, AUT
Bryan and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Adam Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) return to World Cup action Dec. 16-17 with two individual World Cup events. The USA Nordic nordic combined team will also compete at U.S. Olympic Trials this month.

FIS Snowboard World Cup - Val Thorens, FRA / Montafon, AUT
After kicking off the World Cup tour in Argentina back in September, U.S. Snowboard Team snowboardcross athletes are back in action with races in France on Dec. 13  and Austria Dec. 16-17, including a team event on Sunday. The U.S. has a strong contingent of 19 athletes competing, including Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold (Boulder, Colo.), World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, Vt.) and Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass), who landed a podium at the first Olympic selection event in Argentina. The U.S. advanced seven men to the finals for the Val Thorens event.

Dew Tour - Breckenridge, Colo.
After a week of strong performances at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Team athletes move over to Breckenridge for the Dew Tour, which is also serving as the second Olympic qualification event of the season. Halfpipe and slopestyle athletes will compete in finals Dec. 15-16. A full schedule is available here.

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

ALPINE
Dec. 15
6:00 a.m. – Men’s super-G; Val Gardena – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
4:30 a.m.  – Women’s downhill; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s downhill; Val Gardena – Olympic Channel TV
5:00 p.m.  – Women’s downhill; Val d’Isere – NBCSN (SDD)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Val Gardena – NBCSN (SDD)

Dec. 17
3:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 1; Alta Badia – olympicchannel.com
3:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 2; Alta Badia – Olympic Channel TV
3:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Val d’Isere – NBCSN (SDD)

FREESTYLE
Dec. 15
4:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s skicross – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
12:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s aerials – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 17
12:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s team aerials – Olympic Channel TV

CROSS COUNTRY
Dec. 16
5:00 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k classic pursuit – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 15k classic pursuit – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k classic pursuit – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

SKI JUMPING
Dec. 15
10:00 a.m. – Men’s HS142 qualifications; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 16
6:30 a.m. – Women’s Team HS108; Hinterzarten – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Team HS140; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com
5:30 p.m. – Women’s Team HS108; Hinterzarten – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)
7:00 p.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
8:00 a.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com
9:30 a.m. – Women’s HS108; Hinterzarten – olympicchannel.com
5:30 p.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)
7:00 p.m. – Women’s HS108; Hinterzarten – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

NORDIC COMBINED
Dec. 16
5:00 a.m. – Men’s HS96 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 10k – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Men’s HS96 – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 10k – olympicchannel.com

SNOWBOARD
Dec. 13
6:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross; Val Thorens – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
6:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross; Montafon – olympicchannel.com
2:00 p.m. – Snowboardcross; Montafon – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross team event; Montafon – olympicchannel.com
2:00 p.m. – Snowboardcross team event; Montafon – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

DEW TOUR
Click here for streaming channel listing
Dec. 15
11:00 a.m. – Men’s halfpipe skiing finals
12:45 p.m. – Women’s halfpipe skiing finals
2:30 p.m. – Men’s halfpipe snowboarding finals
4:15 p.m. – Women’s halfpipe snowboarding finals

Dec. 16
11:00 a.m. – Women’s slopestyle snowboarding finals
12:15 p.m. – Men’s slopestyle snowboarding finals
2:30 p.m. – Men’s slopestyle skiing finals
4:15 p.m. – Women’s slopestyle skiing finals

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Dec. 10, 2017) – U.S. Snowboard Team riders took three of six podium positions in Sunday’s big air at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic qualifying event. Snowboard big air debuts at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) was second in the women’s competition. Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi took the victory while Norway’s Silje Norendal was third.

“I’m feeling great,” Marino said. “I mean it’s, it’s kind of – it’s really, really cool to see where this sport is going and I’m really happy with, with what I did. But I’m mostly really excited to push myself more because obviously the level of snowboarding is being stepped up by all these younger ones and even some of the older girls too, which is really cool.”

In the men’s completion, Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) was second, with Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah) in third. Norway’s Mons Roisland took the victory.

“I’m feeling super good,” Hunt said after his third-place performance. “I’m so – was definitely not what I was expecting coming into this event, so just to put all my runs down is like a dream come true. I’m so amped.”

Sunday’s event also served as a World Cup event.  Snowboard World Cup will continue in less than 10 days with this season's third Halfpipe World Cup in Secret Garden, China December 19-21, 2017.

RESULTS
Men’s big air
Women’s big air

DAVOS, Switzerland (Dec. 10, 2017) - Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) matched a career-best 10k freestyle Sunday, skiing to 12th in Davos. Bjornsen led four Americans into the top 20 with five in the top 30 points. it was one of the strongest overall performances on a higher elevation distance course for the U.S. Ski Team.

Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg took the win for the women while Maurice Manificat of France won for the men. It was the first race of seven this year not won by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who chose to sit out. Paddy Caldwell (Lyme, N.H.) led the U.S. men in 41st.

While the American women did not challenge for the podium, they were formidable in depth. The distance in Davos had been 15k the last two seasons for the women, dropping this year to the 10k Olympic length.

Just a day after her skate sprint podium, Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) was 14th - her best 10k skate finish since she was on the podium in Gaellivare, Sweden over five years ago. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) was 15th with Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) 17th for one of her best distance finishes ever. Continental Cup leader Chelsea Holmes (Anchorage) was 29th for her first World Cup points outside North America and first time on the track at Davos.

“Davos always feels like the hardest thing in the world,” said Bjornsen of the high altitude track that offers little rest. “Today my goal was to go out harder. When I pace things sometimes I have a tendency to go too slow and don’t get into the flow of the race. I new I was taking a dangerous path going out hard and try to hold it. I know I lost a little bit but I was happy at the end of the day. There’s a lot more in my skating bank this winter.”

The Davos course sits at over 5,000 feet elevation - the highest on the tour and around double that of the Olympic course in PyeongChang.

“Overall pretty decent but it’s going to leave us wanting for a little bit more,” said Head Coach Chris Grover.

Diggins is now eighth in the World Cup overall rankings with Bjornsen ninth..

The team capped the weekend Sunday afternoon with a reception to dedicate its new waxing truck, that has been responsible for faster skis and a better work environment for the team's ski technicians.

The tour now heads to Toblach, Italy for a pair of pre-Christmas events next weekend. Saturday will feature another 15k/10k freestyle race, an Olympic discipline, then wrap up Sunday with a 15k/10k classic pursuit.

RESULTS
Men's 15k freestyle 
Women's 10k freestyle 

 

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Dec. 10, 2017) – The Maloja Snake bites again!

For the second time in three days, this notorious weather phenomenon rose up the slopes of the Maloja Pass and laid a thick, heavy blanket of fog on the Engiadina track, canceling the women’s FIS Ski World Cup super-G and alpine combined.

The U.S. had nine athletes scheduled to start the morning super-G and alpine combined event, which was added to the Sunday schedule following Friday’s cancellation – also caused by the Maloja Snake. No make-up dates for the event have been announced by the FIS.

Up next, the women’s World Cup circuit heads to Val d’Isere, France for downhill and super-G races Dec. 16-17.

Hirscher Wins Men’s Slalom in Val d’Isere

David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) finished 18th in the first run of men’s FIS Ski World Cup slalom in Val d’Isere, France, and was well on his way to a top-15 finish when he hooked a gate near the end of the second run and DNFd.

With heavy snow falling, Austria’s Marcel Hirscher held off Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen for the victory. Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was third. Kristoffersen maintained his overall World Cup lead over Hirscher by 11 points.

Next up for the men’s World Cup are downhill and super-G races in Val Gardena, Italy Dec. 16-17.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Dec. 9, 2017) – American athletes dominated Copper’s Main Vein halfpipe in Saturday’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic qualifying event, claiming five of the six available podium spots. Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.), Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) and Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) swept the women’s podium while Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.) and Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) put down some massive runs to land in second and third.

Kim was on top of her game straight out of the gate, landing an immaculate frontside 1080 tailgrab in her first run to help her score a 93.75 that carried her through the rest of the day.

“I’m totally speechless,” said Kim. “I woke up this morning and I was nervous, but the halfpipe kind of makes me feel at home and all the nerves go away when I’m dropping in and I’m just excited to try new stuff. It’s always awesome to get a U.S. podium sweep. I think it’s so rad that we were all able to put down very solid runs.”

17-year-old Mastro was the top rider from Thursday’s qualifying rounds and went big again in finals, progressing up to a 90.75 on her last run to claim her fourth career World Cup podium.

“My strategy was to just put down a run and have fun with it,” said Mastro. "I progressed through the practice and through the contest and I’m happy with what I got. I’m super excited with how everyone’s riding this winter. It’s going to be interesting to see where we’re gonna go throughout the winter and what it’s going to take to make the Olympic team.”

While Kim and Mastro are looking to make their first Olympic team, Clark, who has three Olympic medals under her belt, is one step closer to attending her fifth Games after a solid third place finish.

“Olympic years, we always see a big jump in the progression of the riding and the level of the riding, so I’m not surprised to see how great all the ladies were riding today,” said Clark. “It’s one run at a time, one contest at time, but I’m real happy to get a podium and start to accumulate those points that I need to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.”

Ferguson stepped it up against a strong international field to land his first World Cup podium since 2014, edging out White by just .5 points. White broke out a frontside 1440 stalefish in his final run, but it wasn’t enough to surpass the clean landings Ferguson put down. Japan’s Ayumu Hirano rightfully claimed the top spot, going huge with a frontside 1440 indy and a frontside 1260 indy in his arsenal to post a high score of 95.25.

“I’m feeling pretty great,” said White. “Obviously I wanted to post a better score for the Americans. I was putting in my first kind of easier runs to just put in a great score, lock it in and that allowed me to then go for my second and third run a little harder.”

“Today was a crazy contest,” said Ferguson. “I’m just stoked I landed some stuff - it feels good for sure.”

Olympic qualifying competition continues next week in Breckenridge at the Dew Tour, Dec. 14-17.

RESULTS
Women's halfpipe
Men's halfpipe

RUKA, Finland (Dec. 9, 2017) – World championship bronze medalist Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) led five American women into finals at the opening FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup with a fifth-place finish. Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) also broke into the top 10, finishing ninth.

Australia’s Britteny Cox, who won the World Cup opener in 2016, started her Olympic season off with another win on the Ruka course. Canada’s Audrey Robichaud was second and Russia’s Marika Pertakhiya third. Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.), Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) and Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) rounded out the top U.S. finishers in 14th, 15th, and 16th.

Emerson Smith (Dover, Vt.) was the top U.S. men’s finisher in 15th. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury added another victory to his resume while Kazakhstan skiers Dmitriy Reikherd and Pavel Kolmakov finished second and third.

The FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup tour continues Dec. 21-22 in Thaiwoo, China.

RESULTS
Women’s moguls
Men’s moguls

VAL D’ISERE, France (Dec. 9, 2017) – Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) rebounded from a disappointing first run to lead three members of the U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine team into the top 22 at the FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom in Val d’Isere, France Saturday.

Ligety finished an uncharacteristic 30th in the first run after getting tripped-up on a left turn on the challenging Stade Olympique De Bellevarde track. He rebounded to post the fourth-fasted second-run time to finish just outside the top 15 in 16th. Tim Jitloff (Reno, Nev.) was 20th and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) finished 22nd.

“This place is brutal … it doesn’t feel good either when you win,” said Ligety, who won a giant slalom in Val d’Isere in 2010. “It’s a tough adjustment after skiing for a month in easy, nice, grippy Colorado snow and then getting thrown right off the plane and into this.”

Frenchman Alexis Pinturault mastered the technical, bumpy track, made even more difficult due to flat light and a light snow falling, to win his 10th career World Cup giant slalom. Germany’s Stefan Luitz was second, followed by Austria’s Marcel Hirscher in third.
 

Shiffrin 20th as Vonn Suffers Back Injury

On the women’s World Cup circuit, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail. Colo.) led four Americans into the top 30, finishing 20th at the FIS Ski World Cup super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Lindsey Vonn suffered a back compression just a few gates into her run but was able to ski through the pain and finished 24th.  Her injury is currently being evaluated and further information on her status is forthcoming.

Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) was 29th, and Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) finished 30th in her first race back on the World Cup circuit since suffering a knee injury last season.

Swiss Jasmine Flury dazzled the home-country crowd with her first career World Cup victory. Countrywomen Michelle Gisin was second, followed Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather in third. Shiffrin maintained her overall World Cup lead by 145 points over Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg, who finished sixth Saturday.

Up next, the women will compete in an alpine combined event Sunday, a makeup from Friday’s canceled race, with a morning super-G, followed by an afternoon slalom.  The men will race slalom Sunday in Val d’Isere.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom
Women’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Dec. 10
3:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 1; Val d’Isere –olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G (alpine combined first run); St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 2; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
7:30 a.m. – Women’s slalom (alpine combined second run); St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV

DAVOS, Switzerland (Dec. 9, 2017) - World champion Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) found power and speed coming down the final stretch in Davos to score her first World Cup podium in nearly three years, finishing third behind Sweden's Stina Nilsson. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) was fourth.

On a day reminiscent of last February's World Championship freestyle sprint in Lahti, Finland, the Americans put three athletes into the final heat with Randall, Diggins and Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.) who was sixth. Five U.S. Ski Team women qualified into the heats including Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) who made it to semis.

Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won his sixth straight World Cup to remain unbeaten - tying a record. Klæbo plans to sit out Sunday's 15k skate. Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) skied a strong quarter-final to advance to the semis where he finished ninth.

The women's final was a remarkable matchup with U.S. Ski Team women making up half of the field. Nilsson and Norway's Maiken Caspersen Falla dominated much of the race, building a gap over Diggins and the chase group. Diggins, who won her semifinal heat, set a strong pace for the chase group with Randall picking her way through the field to set herself up nicely for a finish sprint.

After taking a year off for the birth of her son Breck, Randall had a slow start a year ago before a breakthrough freestyle sprint medal at World Championships in February. But a World Cup podium eluded her as she only made one finals all season. 

"The first couple weekends of the World Cup have been a mixed bag for me," said Randall. "I felt like my shape was there but I wasn’t able to put it together in classic It’s really nice to know I’m in position where my fitness is good and I”m just sharpening that race gear."

Randall was strong and tactical in her heats, positioning herself well for the podium sprint. "I was in a perfect place coming into the stadium. I felt the gear shift and feel there’s just a little bit of just sharpening and confidence that will let me bridge that. It’s cool having that concrete example in front of me."

“It was really meaningful for Kikkan,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “This is a course where she’s won before so she knows how to ski it. But it’s another step in her return. This year she feels like she’s been in good shape all summer and fall. To start out with the first skate sprint - her signature event - with a podium means we’ll see a lot more of Kikkan this year.”

"Our techs and coaches did an incredible job - we had incredible skis," said Sargent, who had a very strong day. "It was so much fun to zoom by people on the downhill. I was feeling great energy when the altitude hit me pretty hard. But it was awesome to be in the final with Kikkan and Jessie."

In the World Cup overall rankings, Diggins moved up to seventh with Bjornsen dropping to ninth.

Sunday is another day of skate racing - this time in an Olympic discipline, with team spots on the line. Diggins will be among the favorites in the women's 10k with the men racing 15k.

RESULTS
Men's Freestyle Sprint 
Women's Freestyle Sprint