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

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)

As downhill racers go, Daron Rahlves was physically small but big in stature - a bold, smart risk taker who loved speed. December 3, 2004 - Rahlves stood atop the Birds of Prey downhill in Beaver Creek. He was running 31st - a late starter. At the bottom, Bode Miller had the lead. 'D' tapped his poles, slid his Atomics under the start wand and listened for the telltale beep, beep, beep of the clock. He was off, charging down the elevated start out onto the Flyway. In just under a minute, 40 seconds, he would be part of American ski racing history. But would he repeat the title he won the year before?

In the mid-2000s, Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves ruled the legendary Birds of Prey. Over four straight years, it was either Bode or Daron atop the downhill podium. From 2002 to 2011, they racked up six wins and 13 podiums at the Colorado resort.

The downhill is where ski racing legends are made. The relentless off-camber high speed pitches of the Hahnenkamm where Buddy Werner's 1959 win put American skiing on the map. The thigh-burning two-and-a-half minutes of the Lauberhorn where Rahlves and Miller won three straight.

Birds of Prey has its own unique character - the flats of the Flyway into the perilous Brink. The sweeping turns through Pump House. The high speed jumps: Harrier into Golden Eagle, through the Abyss and rocketing off Red Tail into the bowels of the stadium with 10,000 screaming fans.

Birds of Prey made its maiden flight in 1997. Just over a year later, it was showcased at the 1999 Worlds where Austrian legend Hermann Maier took double gold and started a string of six straight speed wins.

The 1999 Worlds were bleak for the USA. A turning point came in 2001 when Rahlves crashed the party at the 2001 Worlds in St. Anton, beating the Austrians with super G gold. Soon, Rahlves and Miller starting cracking the code. The next December, Miller shook off a St. Anton knee injury to start a string of World Cup wins - first Val d'Isere, later the night race at Schladming on the eve of the 2002 Olympics and the glacier race at Soelden in October, 2003.

A few weeks later, Miller won a pivotal World Cup in Park City. That win on home snow ignited an unprecedented period of success for the U.S. Ski Team. "Park City was a rallying cry for the team," recalled coach Phil McNichol. "They were intoxicated by it."

A week later, an inspired Rahlves got his first Beaver Creek win while Miller lost a battle with his nemesis in the Abyss. "Daron elevated our entire approach to Birds of Prey," said McNichol. "The flood gates were opened!" 

Now, a year later, it was Rahlves versus Miller again. Early-starting Bryan Friedman came down fifth to take the lead. Racer after racer attacked and no one could touch Friedman who celebrated in the leader's box.

Then, it was Miller time. Starting 17th, he sliced through the course in Bode style. Instead of carving sweeping turns he attacked the gates with a direct line. He soared off Golden Eagle arms outstretched. He crushed his demons in the Abyss, vaulting off Red Tail to the delight of the fans in 1:39.76 - just off Rahlves' record set a year earlier.

America stood 1-2 once again with Rahlves still to come.

Out of the start Rahlves knew that the Flyway was critical for him. He didn't have the large body mass that equated to speed on the flat. He had to be precise.

He stayed flat on his skis as he approached the Brink - a perilous drop that puts fear into any racer. He dropped into the steep, setting an edge on the icy pitch. A right-footed turn would set him up for the exit - sweeping through Pete's Arena into the Talon Turn and down through Pump House.

Heading into the jumps he was flying - downhill ski racing perfection! He soared off Red Tail with precision, entering the stadium to the most thunderous roar he had ever heard.

It was a perfect run for Rahlves who saw the crowd's celebration, pumped his fist in the air and grabbed an American flag from the crowd. But it wasn't quite perfect enough - .16 behind Miller. He was second.

Miller ran out to meet him celebrating with hugs and tears. "We've been trying to do this for a long time," said Rahlves.

Bode and Daron were two separate individuals with completely different lifestyles. But they came together as ski racers, supporting each other on the hill. "We both do our own thing but when we're racing we each want to win," said Miller. "To be one-two on home turf, it’s just awesome.”

Rahlves and Miller would define a generation for the U.S. Ski Team. A year later Rahlves flipped the table with the win over Miller in another one-two USA finish. Miller, meanwhile, took the 2005 GS with Rahlves second and Erik Schlopy fourth. In 2006, Miller won the downhill again with Steven Nyman third.

Birds of Prey would play a leading role amidst the dramatic ironies of Bode Miller's career. His last World Cup win came in the 2011 downhill there - a narrow .04 win over Swiss Beat Feuz. And he would also ski his final race at the 2015 World Championships on the course that brought him fame - hooking an arm on a gate in the Abyss and slicing a tendon. 

Fans who were there that December day in 2004 will never forget the magic that Bode and Daron brought to Red Tail Stadium that day.

Rahlves summed it up best: "I don’t think you’ll ever have a perfect run, but it was a perfect effort.”
 

LAKE LOUISE, AB (Dec. 1, 2017) – Surprise performances are nothing new for Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) in slalom and giant slalom events. But Friday’s third-place finish in the first downhill of the FIS Ski World Cup season just may be the biggest surprise yet in the young career of the defending overall World Cup champion.

Austria’s Cornelia Huetter took the win Friday, a career-first World Cup downhill victory and her second career World Cup win. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished second. For Shiffrin, her third-place finish was a career-first podium in a speed event. 

“The track was totally buffed out. Really in perfect condition,” Shiffrin said. “I was confident in my plan and I tried to stay in my tuck as much as I could. I tried to be soft on my edges and do the couple things I know are fast with speed … I skied within my limits and it was a really good run.”

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) was well on her way to her 19th Lake Louise World Cup victory after leading at all four intermediate times, but crashed hard into the safety netting near the finish. Vonn was able to get up and ski to the bottom of the course.

With a steady snow falling, Shiffrin came out of the 10th start position and absolutely nailed the lower portion of the Olympic downhill course to move into the race lead. However, Weirather, starting 13th, nipped her at the line by 0.21 seconds. Huetter, starting 15th, displayed masterful technical skills to best Weirather by 0.09 seconds and take the win.

Jackie Wiles (Aurora OR) scored her second career World Cup top-five result, finishing fifth. Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID) matched her career-best World Cup result, finishing 10th, as Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) was 11th. Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO) was 24th.

The women race another downhill Saturday, followed by super G Sunday at Lake Louise.

Weibrecht 21st in Birds of Prey Super G
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) led the American Downhillers, taking 21st in Friday’s super-G. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr took his first career World Cup victory, while Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud was second, followed by Austria’s Hannes Reichelt in third.

Thomas Biesemeyer (Keene, NY) also scored points, finishing 24th. Sam Morse (Sugarloaf, ME), made his World Cup super G debut, finishing 48th. The Birds of Prey event continues Saturday with downhill and Sunday with a giant slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill – Lake Louise
Men’s Super G – Beaver Creek

WHERE TO WATCH
Dec. 1
7:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s super-G – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s downhill – Olympic Channel TV
2:00 p.m. – Women’s downhill – NBCSN
4:00 p.m. – Women’s downhill – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)
5:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s downhill – NBC

Dec. 3
11:45 a.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom run 1 – nbcsports.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s super-G – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom run 2 – Olympic Channel TV
5:00 p.m. – Birds of Prey Men’s giant slalom – NBC
6:30 p.m. – Women’s super-G – NBCSN (same day delay)