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

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Dec. 8, 2017) – Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) continued her dominance on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit, winning the first run slalom in the alpine combined Friday. However, heavy fog scrubbed the second run super-G. Further details regarding the possibility of rescheduling the alpine combined will be released when available from the FIS.

Strong winds and fog also forced officials to swap Friday’s event program, running slalom first, followed by super-G. 

Friday’s first run slalom marked the return to the World Cup circuit for Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.), who last raced a World Cup event on March 17, 2015. Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) was scheduled to return to action following last season’s knee injury but decided to sit out the slalom following the change in the event program. Ross is expected to start Saturday's super-G.

Up next, the women race a pair of super-G events Saturday and Sunday at St. Moritz. On the men’s side, Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) lead the U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine tech group in giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday in Val d’Isere, France.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
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

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."