SACREMENTO, CA (Dec. 20, 2016) – Today, The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), in conjuction with Crown Sports United, announced an extended partnership with Blue Diamond Almonds, the world’s leading almond brand. Crown Sports United will serve as an agent for USSA’s major events, including the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, the Putnam Investments Freestyle Challenge and U.S. Alpine Championships. It currently serves as the global sales representative tasked with marketing property and intellectual rights within the USSA portfolio.

Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC (SBH) launched Crown Sports United in 2014 as a full service consulting practice to assist with sponsorship development and brand building for a wide range of clients. With the full resources of the Sacramento Kings and extended partnerships, Crown Sports United assists with partner prospecting, negotiations, activation and measurement. In addition to USSA, select clients include Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Visit Sacramento, which utilized Crown Sports United services for the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

“We’re excited to help USSA athletes by creating a unique partnership with Blue Diamond,” said Sacramento Kings President and Crown Sports United Executive Chris Granger.

Blue Diamond extends their Olympic endeavors with a four-year deal with USSA in the run up to 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. As part of the partnership, Blue Diamond will be deeply incorporated into the athlete’s preparation and training. Blue Diamond will work with the USSA’s Director of High Performance and High Performance Dietician to incorporate Blue Diamond Almonds into athlete snacks and meals at the USSA’s Center of Excellence, the organization’s training facility in Park City, UT.

“Our work with USSA in the past was powerful,” said Blue Diamond CEO Mark Jansen, “and our future partnership is just as promising. We’re on track to build our relationship with the next generation of American athletes and to build our brand with the next generation of almond fans.”

“We continue to seek out sponsors that want to activate their brands and products with our athletes and events in unique and authentic ways,” said Michael Jaquet, USSA chief marketing officer. “Integrating Blue Diamond Almonds in to our High Performance program at the COE and then telling that story through digital, social, and television assets helps us on many fronts. We can now do this for the next four years which will be very impactful to our programs. We are very excited to welcome back our friends at Blue Diamond to the USSA corporate sponsorship program and roster.”

COURCHEVEL, France (Dec. 20, 2016) – Strong and gusty winds forced officials to cancel the Audi FIS Ski World Cup women’s giant slalom Tuesday. A rescheduled date and location have not been announced by the FIS.

The race started on schedule at 10:30 a.m. local time and the first 19 racers completed the first run as winds picked up. Italy’s Sofia Goggia was in the lead before officials held Canada’s Marie-Michele Gagnon in the start with bib 20 due to conditions. Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) was sitting in 10^th position. Following a lengthy course hold, officials announced the race would be re-started from a lower position starting with bib 1 at 12:15 p.m. local time. 

After postponing the rescheduled start to 12:30 p.m. local time, officials ultimately decided to cancel the race due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Up next, the men’s World Cup circuit continues with slalom at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Thursday evening. The women’s circuit resumes with giant slalom on Wednesday, Dec. 28 in Semmering, Austria.

BROADCAST & LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
Thurs, Dec. 22
11:45 a.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
2:45 p.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
10:00 p.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – UniversalHD

Wed. Dec. 28
4:30 a.m. – Semmering giant slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
7:30 a.m. – Semmering giant slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
3:00 p.m. – Semmering giant slalom – UniversalHD

ALTA BADIA, Italy (Dec. 19, 2016) – 22-year-old Cyprien Sarrazin of France took the surprise win in just his seventh World Cup start at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia.

32 racers battled for the win in in the head-to-head, knockout format. Carlo Janka of Switzerland was a close second and last year’s Alta Badia PGS winner Kjetil Jansrud took third. Americans Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT) and Tommy Ford (Bend, OR) did not make it past the first heat. Cochran-Siegle finished 20th and Ford was 25th.

Tommy Ford skied to 25th. (Getty Images-Giuseppe Cacace) 

The World Cup tour continues in Italy for a night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio Thursday before the Christmas break.

RESULTS
Men’s parallel giant slalom

BROADCAST & TV SHOWINGS (times EST)

Mon, Dec. 19
6:30 p.m. – Alta Badia parallel giant slalom – UniversalHD

Thurs, Dec. 22
11:45 a.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
2:45 p.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAMING
10:00 p.m. – Madonna di Campiglio slalom – UniversalHD

ALTA BADIA, Italy (Dec. 18, 2016) – The men’s World Cup tour moved to the other side of the Dolomites where Tommy Ford (Bend, OR) was the fastest American in the Alta Badia giant slalom.

Marcel Hirscher of Austria took an easy victory over Mathieu Faivre of France in second and Florian Eisath of Italy in third, which catapulted him to first in the giant slalom standings over France’s Alexis Pinturault, who crashed second run. It was also Hirscher’s fourth win at Alta Badia, tying him with Alberto Tomba, the only other man who has won the venue four times.  

Ford skied strongly both runs down the dark Grand Risa pitch, but had a couple of mistakes that cost him a top-10 finish. He took 13th place, adding to the GS points he scored in Val d’Isere at the beginning of the month. “I’m continuing the work I’ve been doing—skiing well and getting in a good position,” said Ford. “I executed better first run—kind of an unlucky mistake in the middle there.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle took 20th place at Alta Badia. (Getty Images-Mitch Gunn)

Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT) also put down two clean runs and grabbed GS points, finishing in 20th place. “Today I was able to put everything aside and try and hammer as hard as I could,” said Cochran-Siegle. “You can always try and push it a little harder—and I think I probably could have—but I’m pretty happy with how I skied. I made it to the finish and that’s a good day for me.”

Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), who is having back problems, skied out during the first run, only 12 gates into the course. "I just have stabbing pain all the way down my leg, nerve pain, so I haven't been able to ski much," said Ligety. "I've been getting injections and trying to get it sorted out but it hasn't really turned the corner yet."

Even with Ligety hurting, Cochran-Siegle spoke highly of the U.S. tech team’s potential. “Our training group in general is doing really well,” he said. “Ted has a little issue with his body right now, but he’s definitely super capable of being a super good GS skier. Just having him with us helps push all of our skiing up a bit. We’re all skiing super well—Daver (David Chodounsky), (Brennan) Rubie, Tommy and I. If we put down a good run, we’ll be in there.”

Next up, the tech guys race Monday’s parallel GS in Alta Badia—the last race before the Christmas holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tommy Ford was the first American, finishing in 13th place.
• Ryan Cochran-Siegle was 20th.
• Tim Jitloff (Park City, UT), David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) did not qualify for second run. Ted Ligety and Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City, UT) did not finish first run.
• The giant slalom race will be on NBCSN at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday.
• Road to Aspen: Marcel Hirscher’s win in Alta Badia puts him into first in the giant slalom standings at the midpoint of the season. There are only four giant slalom races to go before the World Cup Finals in Aspen.
• The guys have one more event before the Christmas break—Monday’s parallel GS.

QUOTES

Tommy Ford
I’m continuing the work I’ve been doing—skiing well and getting in a good position. I executed better first run—kind of an unlucky mistake in the middle there. Second run, pretty good skiing. I have some more work to do—mistake on the bottom, my bad! We don’t train too many really blind rolls, but that's OK, there are more races coming.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle
I’m super happy. I feel like the last couple weeks—since the first weekend of Val d’Isere—I started falling out. I didn’t think my training was going that well. Today I was able to put everything aside and try and hammer as hard as I could. I had a pretty haggard first run, but I had some speed in a lot of spots and it was a fun ride. I’m still just getting used to getting into the flip, and any day I get into the flip, it’s pretty fun. You can always try and push it a little harder—and I think I probably could have—but I’m pretty happy with how I skied. I made it to the finish and that’s a good day for me.

Tommy in training has been killing it. We had this really good training prep in Pfelders, Italy. Pretty similar hill to this and he seemed to be skiing really well. Our training group in general is doing really well. Ted has a little issue with his body right now, but he’s definitely super capable, obviously, of being a super good GS skier. Just having him with us helps push all of our skiing up a bit. We’re all skiing super well—Daver (David Chodounsky), (Brennan) Rubie, Tommy and I. If we put down a good run, we’ll be in there.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)

Sun, Dec. 18
8:00 p.m. – Alta Badia men's giant slalom - NBCSN

Mon, Dec. 19
12:00 p.m. – Alta Badia men's parallel giant slalom – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM

Live streaming available on NBCsports.com/Live and the NBC Sports app, which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

VAL D’ISERE, France (Dec. 18, 2016) – Getting out of bed was the hardest part of the day for Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) on Sunday. 

After winning Friday’s alpine combined downhill, Ross did not start Saturday’s World Cup downhill due to a flu bug making its way around the women’s circuit. Still not 100 percent, she mustered enough strength to finish 18th and lead three Americans into the top 30 at Sunday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G. 

After uncharacteristically failing to finish the past three races, Switzerland’s Lara Gut returned to the top of the podium for her 21st World Cup victory Sunday. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was second, followed by Elena Curtoni of Italy in third.

A number of starters came from outside the top 30 to score World Cup points Sunday, including Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID), who was 13th in Saturday’s downhill, finished 30th in the super G from the 47th start position. Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO), starting 54, was well on her way to a top 30 result when she lost her edge on a tough right footer and slammed into the A-net structure. After lying on the snow for a few minutes, she was able to get up and ski down on her own.

Up next, the ladies race giant slalom in Courchevel, France on Tuesday. Live streaming will be available on NBCsports.com/live. Meanwhile, the ladies on the speed circuit have some extended holiday time off, returning to action January 14 with a downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Laurenne Ross finished 18th in Sunday’s World Cup super G. Stacey Cook (Mammoth, CA) was 29th and Breezy Johnson was 30th.
• Switzerland’s Lara Gut won her 21st World Cup race Sunday.
• Gut has won both super G races this season, and leads the overall super G World Cup standings with 200 points.
• Gut’s Swiss teammate Priska Nufer laid down one of the most exciting runs of the day from the 46th start position, scoring a career-best World Cup super G result in 12th place.
• Road to Aspen: Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) has a five-point lead over Lara Gut in the overall World Cup standings.  Shiffrin did not compete in Sunday’s super G. She returns to action in Tuesday’s giant slalom in Courchevel

RESULTS
Women’s super G

VAL GARDENA, Italy (Dec. 17, 2016) – Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) snagged the podium on his favorite Audi FIS Ski World Cup track, finishing in third in Val Gardena. Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) and Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA) nailed the top 10.

It looked like Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was going to take his first downhill win since his injury last season, but Max Franz of Austria spoiled his celebration, coming from bib 26 to win the race—his first World Cup victory of his career and the first Austrian win on the Saslong in eight years.

Nyman skis down the Saslong. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Francis Bompard)

It was another beautiful day in the Dolomites with the U.S. men performing well on the open downhill track. Nyman had a wild ride—threatening first place even after landing on his tails off a jump. But the hill is a perfect set up for the big man—built for strong gliders like Nyman. “I’m really happy with the performance,” said Nyman. “Val d’Isere was a big disappointment—I had some equipment issues I was dialing in. To resurrect that here and know I can ski at the top is really, really good and I want to carry that into Caterina.”

Ganong also had a great day, putting down an aggressive line to finish in seventh place. But his eyes are looking towards the win at Santa Caterina. “I know I have speed to be faster than anybody, but it’s having all the splits add up at the end,” said Ganong. “It’s close, it’s super close. I have to keep working at it and keep trying and it’ll come.”

Bryce Bennett skis from 54th to eighth place. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)

The race was thrilling to the end, with Bennett skiing from bib 54 to finish eighth, right behind Ganong. This wasn’t Bennett’s first bibbo rodeo at Val Gardena. Last season, he started 57th to finish sixth on the track.

The men’s tech team heads to Alta Badia for a giant slalom Sunday and parallel GS Monday, while the speed team will be training in Santa Caterina for races after the holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Steven Nyman was the top American, finishing on the podium in third place.
• Travis Ganong grabbed the top 10, finishing seventh—his best result at Val Gardena.
• Bryce Bennett started 54th and finished eighth—the second time he’s had a huge bibbo at Val Gardena. Last season, he started 57th to finish sixth.
• Steven Nyman has won three times in Val Gardena - 2006, 2012 and 2014.
• The World Cup tour heads over to Alta Badia for a giant slalom on Sunday and a parallel GS on Monday.

Nyman waves at the crowd. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Francis Bompard)

QUOTES
Steven Nyman
I caught quite a bit of air and didn’t get forward on that first jump. So I went off that second big jump—the Camel Bugle—a little back, which made me roll down the windows and gave me a good scare! I bet I had a good grunt when I landed and pulled myself back up. But knees are OK and everything’s OK.

You can’t complain about (the result), but I skied really well. I was in the lead on the last split, but I burned my skis really bad. I could feel them on this last drag down bottom and they were just grabbing and I was like, I’m not moving like I should be moving right now. Which is a bummer, but that’s part of ski racing. I’m really happy with the performance. Val d’Isere was a big disappointment—I had some equipment issues I was dialing in. To resurrect that here and know I can ski at the top is really, really good and I want to carry that into Catarina.

I’m old but I’m healthy and happy and I have several more years in me. My lady thinks I can go till 2022. I don’t know about that, but we’ll see.

Travis Ganong races to seventh. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)

Travis Ganong
I know I have speed to be faster than anybody, but it’s having all the splits add up at the end. It’s close, it’s super close. I have to keep working at it and keep trying and it’ll come. Hopefully, I can build from this and look at the video and figure out why I lose time in one section of every race and hopefully not do that next race and hopefully win.

Nyman is scary fast. He has mistakes—he’s wild, he’s crazy, but he’s scary fast on this hill. You never count him out even when he’s landing on his back off jumps and getting tossed all over the place. He’s super fast on this hill. He has it so dialed. And it’s all confidence too because he’s had so much success here.

Bryce Bennett
I had some good training runs and I’ve never experienced that in my career where I was fast in my training runs. I was pretty nervous today, my mind was a lot of places, but I was able to calm it down four people before I went. Then I just went and skied and had a good time. I really enjoy this track. It’s incredibly prepared and the terrain suits my style, so I just like to have fun with it. The big jumps and all the bumps and micro terrain and big terrain—I grew up racing BMX and it’s very similar. So I just enjoy using my strength sometimes. I think we all thrive here, which is showing today. 

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)

Sat, Dec. 17
5:30 p.m. – Val Gardena men’s downhill – UniversalHD

Sun, Dec. 18
3:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
6:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
8:00 p.m. – Alta Badia men's giant slalom - NBCSN

Mon, Dec. 19
12:00 p.m. – Alta Badia men's parallel giant slalom – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM

Live streaming available on NBCsports.com/Live and the NBC Sports app, which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

VAL D’ISERE, France (Dec. 17, 2016) – Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID) skied into the ‘bonus points’ Saturday, leading four American’s into the top 30 in downhill at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup.

“I’ve worked really hard all summer long, so it’s great to see it pay off in a place where I really didn’t expect a whole lot because I’ve never been here before,” said Johnson, who finishing 13^th - her second career top 15 World Cup result. “My technician (Ale Sopotnik) and I were talking and he was like: ‘Anything above 25 is really just bonus points.’”

Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec won her third World Cup downhill of the season Saturday by 0.28 over Austria’s Cornelia Huetter. Italy’s Sofia Goggia was third. 

Stacey Cook finished 21^st in Saturday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup downhill on in Val-d'Isere, France (Getty/Agence Zoom-Christophe Pallot)

Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO) finished 14^th, Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, CA) was 21^st and Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) finished 22^nd.  Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) was 36^th. Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR), who won the downhill portion of Friday’s alpine combined, did not start the race due to a flu bug making its way around the women’s circuit.

Up next, the ladies tackle super G Sunday in Val d’Isere. Live streaming will be available on NBCsports.com/live.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec has won all three World Cup downhill events contested this season, including both races at Lake Louise.
• Breezy Johnson scored her second career top 15 World Cup downhill result – she was 11^th at Lake Louise.
• Road to Aspen: Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO), who did not race Saturday, continues to lead the overall standings with 498 points. Sofia Goggia is second with 467, and Ilka Stuhec is third with 445.

QUOTES
Breezy Johnson
I’ve worked really hard all summer long, so it’s great to see it pay off in a place like this where I really didn’t expect a whole lot because I’ve never been here before. My technician (Ale Sopotnik) and I were talking and he was like: ‘Anything above 25 is really just bonus points.’

I’m really excited about being able to come here and notch a top 15. That’s way more than I ever could have expected.

We’ve been working really hard on getting my set up dialed, getting my skiing dialed. Changing my stance, changing the way I approach the top of the turn. I’m really grateful for all the work that everyone else has put in, not just me. There are a whole slew of people out there that are still standing on the hill for me.

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
Sat, Dec. 17
4 p.m. – Val d’Isere women’s downhill – UniversalHD

Sun, Dec. 18
4:30 a.m. – Val d’Isere women’s super G – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
9:30 p.m. – Val d'Isere women's super G - NBCSN

Live streaming available on NBCsports.com/Live and the NBC Sports app, which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

VAL GARDENA, Italy (Dec. 16, 2016) – Once Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) got up to speed, he laid down a solid run to lead to U.S. men in Friday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G.

“The skiing was really good once I got into it,” said Ganong, who finished the day in 18th. “But the start is kind of what got me.”

Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, who has been on fire so far this season in speed events, won his second super G race of the season over countryman Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Canada’s Erik Guay rounded out the podium in third – his 24^th World Cup podium finish.

Other American finishers included Steve Nyman (Sundance, UT) in 25^th; Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City, UT) just missed World Cup points in 31^st; Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, NY) 42^nd; Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) 47^th; Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA) 48^th; Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT) 51^st; and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) 53^rd.

Up next, the men tackle the famed Saslong downhill track Saturday with Nyman going for the podium. Live streaming will be available on NBCsports.com/live.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Travis Ganong was the top U.S. finisher in 18^th
• Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud won his 17^th World Cup race Friday
• Jansrud leads the overall World Cup super G standing with 200 points
• Road to Aspen: Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, who did not compete Friday, leads the overall World Cup standings by 140 points over Jansrud
• Jansrud has won all three speed events contested so far this season – one downhill and two super G

QUOTES
Travis Ganong
The first split I didn’t push hard enough. I was like nine-tenths down, but then I made back sixth-tenths. The skiing was really good once I got into it. But the start is kind of what got me.

[On Saturday’s downhill]
I'll just build off today--focus on a really good start and just let the rest go. My skiing is in a really good spot - it’s really close, just missing one little thing. Out of the start tomorrow, that’s where I have to really go and focus, then the rest will take care of itself.

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
Fri, Dec. 16
5 p.m. – Val Gardena men’s super G – UniversalHD

Sat, Dec. 17
6 a.m. – Val Gardena men’s downhill – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
5:30 p.m. – Val Gardena men’s downhill – UniversalHD

Sun, Dec. 18
3:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
6:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM

Live streaming available on NBCsports.com/Live and the NBC Sports app, which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

RESULTS
Men’s super G

VAL D’ISERE, France (Dec. 16, 2016) – After winning the downhill run, Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) finished 10th in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup alpine combined in Val d’Isere.

Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia capitalized on her hot streak to win her third World Cup of the season—and her third World Cup of her career—having won both downhills at Lake Louise. Michelle Gisin of Switzerland was second and Sofia Goggia of Italy was third.

Ross excelled at the dark and bumpy downhill portion of the day. "The downhill run is awesome--the snow is great, a little bumpy in spots and most of the course is in the shade so it's tough to see," said Ross. "But was a ton of fun. It felt a little faster today, but that may be due to the fact that I didn't make any big mistakes and was skiing more aggressively than in the training runs."

But the downhill skier struggled a bit in the slalom, moving back into 10th place overall. However, Ross will go into Saturday’s downhill with confidence, after leading the speed portion of the day by three-tenths.

"The slalom portion today was tough. The snow was pretty icy, but sweet, and the course was turny. I was fairly intimidated right out of the start and wasn't ever able to really let it go," said Ross. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow's downhill as I know I can be fast--I'm going to take the confidence out of today's downhill run into tomorrow and see what happens."

The women now take on two speed events over the weekend: downhill on Saturday and super G on Sunday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Laurenne Ross was the top finisher for the Americans—taking 10th in the alpine combined. 
• It was Ross's second-best combined result, having grabbed seventh in Lenzerheide last March.
• Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) was 24th in the downhill, but finished 32nd overall. Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID) did not start the slalom, after taking 27th in the downhill. Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, CA) did not finish the downhill.
• Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), who is currently injured, was second in last year’s Val d’Isere combined, finishing behind Swiss Lara Gut.
• Road to Aspen: Current World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) opted to sit out the three speed events this weekend to focus on GS training, which gives Gut an opportunity to threaten Shiffrin’s lead. However, Gut skied out in the slalom portion of the combined and will not score points.
• There are still two more races in Val d’Isere this weekend—a downhill on Saturday and a super G on Sunday. By the end of the weekend, Val d’Isere will have hosted eight World Cup races in a month.

QUOTES

Laurenne Ross
The downhill run is awesome--the snow is great, a little bumpy in spots and most of the course is in the shade so it's tough to see. But it is a ton of fun. It felt a little faster today, but that may be due to the fact that I didn't make any big mistakes and was skiing more aggressively than in the training runs. The snow seems to be hardening up a bit as well as the days go on here, and it's getting rougher every run. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's downhill as I know I can be fast--I'm going to take the confidence out of today's downhill run into tomorrow and see what happens.

The slalom portion today was tough. The snow was pretty icy, but sweet, and the course was turny. I was fairly intimidated right out of the start and wasn't ever able to really let it go. I held on, but it turned out alright. 10th is my second-best combined result, so I'm pretty happy with it.

RESULTS
Women’s alpine combined

VAL GARDENA, ITA (Dec. 15, 2016) – There’s a crown to be regained this weekend, and Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) is the man looking to reclaim the title of King of the Saslong once again. This place feels like home to Nyman, complete with that unmatched Italian hospitality, clean and fresh air, a challenging track and incredible vistas.

Val Gardena is a classic track on the Audi FIS Ski World Cup circuit and—at 3,446 meters long—offers a long, challenging downhill with terrain to boot. To say Nyman likes the Saslong is an understatement. Of the three times he’s won in his career, they’ve all been here in Val Gardena in 2006, 2012 and 2014—all even years. 2016 is an even year, too. He’s reached the podium seven other times, all in downhill, including four last season. That podium streak last season was a record for the American Downhillers.

The Dolomites are a sight for sore eyes. Towering over the track, the Saslong offers up spectacular views—and this year it’s offering to the men is an impeccable, smooth surface and lots of big terrain. Yes, the terrain is big…and this year many said it was too big. Yesterday Nyman played the role of athlete representative, taking feedback from fellow competitors who claimed it was too big. That’s a tough position for Nyman to be in, because he loves this track and he loves big terrain. The terrain has been minimized but the excitement remains big. Buckle up—it’s going to be a wild ride.

The Attacking Vikings will be defending their Val Gardena podium sweep in the super G last season, led by Aksel Lund Svindal, and Svindal will also be defending his Saslong downhill crown. They’ll be tough to beat, but the American Downhillers have shown strength in training runs and have a good chance of spoiling the Norwegian party.

“Two years ago when I won, I was really skiing well in the training runs and beating everybody by over a second, and I said ‘I can’t relax, I’ve got to go hard,’” Nyman said. “Because I know (Kjetil) Jansrud is going to hammer, and he did. He was the only guy close to me in the race - three-tenths out. So I know come race day (the Norwegians) are going to push even harder, so I have to step my game up.”

In the final training run on the Saslong, Nyman finished second behind Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud, by just five hundredths. The Austrians are feeling the heat to perform after a sub-par performance in Val d’Isere, and Matthias Mayer or Max Franz—who both had solid training run results—could be their knights in shining armor.  

Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) has said in the past that this track is not his favorite, though last season he surprised himself when he snagged fifth place in the super G.

“It’s just great to be back racing on tracks that we know,” Weibrecht said. “Val d’Isere was kind of a crapshoot, so it’s just nice to be back here where some of the experience I’ve built up actually pays off a little bit.”

Bryce Bennett surprised everyone at Val Gardena last year when he started 57^th and finished sixth (Getty-Alexis Boichard)

Also keep an eye on 24-year-old Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA), who wowed the remaining crowd when he rocketed from bib 57 to sixth last year in the downhill. In the final training run today, Bennett showcased the same clean and solid Saslong style as he moved from bib 60 to ninth. He could quite possibly have a bibbo of epic proportions once again this weekend. Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) have also been strong and solid in training runs.

Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) is looking forward to getting onto the course in Alta Badia where he also has three victories. The men have a parallel GS in Alta Badia Monday then head to the classic night slalom venue of Madonna di Campiglio Thursday night before a short holiday break.

On the women’s side, a deep and talented crew of speed skiers led by the consistent and strong Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) will take on an alpine combined, downhill and super G in Val d'Isere, then heading over the mountain to Courchevel for a giant slalom on Tuesday before a holiday break. The women will race a giant slalom and slalom in Semmering just after Christmas. After her win Sunday in Sestriere, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) will sit out the speed events but will be back in action for the Courchevel giant slalom.

Universal HD and NBCSN will cover all of the action this weekend. Live streaming of both races will be available on NBCsports.com/live.

Road to Aspen Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals

The road to World Cup Finals in Aspen will take some twists and curves this weekend as both Austrian Marcel Hirscher and Shiffrin will be challenged for their leads as the respective tours take to the speed side before coming back with technical races going into the holidays.

QUOTES
Andrew Weibrecht
It’s just great to be back racing on tracks that we know. Val d’Isere was kind of a crapshoot, so it’s just nice to be back here where some of the experience I’ve built up actually pays off a little bit.

The whole start to the season was really tough.  For us, that’s part of the process of getting into the season. You have Lake Louise, then Beaver Creek … it’s great to go from an easy track to a harder track with super nice snow then take it over here (to Europe). Bummer, but we’re picking it up and finding our pace, so it’s all good!

Steven Nyman
I love it here. I’ve always had great results here, but I’ve also crashed a lot here. This hill has treated me well, but she’s also knocked me down we I’ve got a little too confident in myself. The people, the food, and the air … it feels good.

Two years ago when I won, I was really skiing well in the training runs and beating everybody by over a second, and I said ‘I can’t relax, I’ve got to go hard.’ Because I know (Kjetil) Jansrud is going to hammer, and he did. He was the only guy close to me in the race - three-tenths out. So I know come race day (the Norwegians) are going to push even harder, so I have to step my game up.

Val Gardena/Alta Badia – Men: 
Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA) – SG, DH
David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) – GS, PGS
Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, NY) – SG, DH
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT) – SG, GS, PGS
Tommy Ford (Bend, OR) – GS, PGS
Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) – SG, DH
Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) – SG, DH
Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV) – GS, PGS
Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) – GS, PGS
Steve Nyman (Sundance, UT) – SG, DH
Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City, UT) – SG, GS, PGS
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) – SG, DH

Val d’Isere/Courchevel - Women:
Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, CA) – AC, DH, SG
Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID) – AC, DH, SG
Anna Marno (Centennial, WY) – DH, SG
Megan McJames (Park City, UT) – GS
Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO) – DH, SG
Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) – AC, DH, SG
Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) – GS
Resi Stiegler (Jackson, WY) – GS
Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) – DH, SG
Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) – AC, DH, SG

BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)

Fri, Dec. 16
4:30 a.m.  – Val d’Isere women’s combined – downhill – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
6 a.m. – Val Gardena men’s super G – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
8 a.m. – Val d’Isere women’s combined – slalom – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
5 p.m. – Val Gardena men’s super G – UniversalHD
6:30 p.m. – Val d’Isere women’s combined – UniversalHD

Sat, Dec. 17
4:30 a.m. – Val d’Isere women’s downhill – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
6 a.m. – Val Gardena men’s downhill – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
4 p.m. – Val d’Isere women’s downhill – UniversalHD
5:30 p.m. – Val Gardena men’s downhill – UniversalHD

Sun, Dec. 18
3:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 1 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
4:30 a.m. – Val d’Isere women’s super G – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
6:30 a.m. – Alta Badia men’s giant slalom – run 2 – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM

Live streaming available on NBCsports.com/Live and the NBC Sports app, which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.