. world ski news : ARE GS man - 15 February 2007 - 01:11
Are: Svindal tops men's GS for second gold; Ligety 4th
By Sam Flickinger
Wednesday, 14 February 2007
skiracing.com
ARE, Sweden — After collecting his second gold medal of these World Championships in Wednesday’s men’s giant slalom, Aksel Lund Svindal was asked whether winning the overall World Cup title would trump the hardware he’s hauled in from Are so far.
“I’ve said this many times before, but I think winning the overall World Cup is the biggest thing you can do as a skier,” the Norwegian Svindal said. “It means you were the best skier through the year. It seems like I’m the best skier this week, but if I can win the overall I’ll be the best skier all year.
“But on the other hand, I won two races at the World Championships, two gold medals. And that means I won something this year and takes the pressure off a little bit. I can be a little more relaxed.”
If Svindal skis any more relaxed, he may cross the finish line asleep.
Svindal, the World Cup points leader entering these worlds, showed why in the second run Wednesday. Fourth after the first run, Svindal constructed a masterpiece his second time down the Olympia course on a set by U.S. coach Mike Morin. His time of 1 minute, 9.97 seconds was bettered only by Canadian John Kucera, and Svindal overtook first-run leader Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland to win with a two-run combined time of 2:19.64. Albrecht, already a gold medalist here in the super combined, held on for second in 2:20.12, while Albrecht’s veteran teammate, Didier Cuche, finished third in 2:20.56.
Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety of the U.S. finished 0.07 out of the medals in fourth place. Ninth after the first run, Ligety surged to the third-fastest time in his second run but took little consolation in that.
“I’m happy I skied well but I’m super disappointed that I came in fourth. Especially by seven hundredths, that sucks,” Ligety said. “I made a couple of little mistakes that cost me for sure. It’s bittersweet, for sure.”
But watching Svindal win, Ligety said, helped wash some of that bitter taste from his mouth.
“I knew he was going to win it. There was no question in my mind,” said Ligety, after watching Svindal complete his second run and take nearly a full-second lead on Cuche sitting in the hotseat. “He’s skiing awesome right now. It’s good to see him, he’s such a good guy, ski so well and take you down. It’s impressive skiing for sure.”
The frustrations of Ligety’s teammate, Bode Miller, continued Wednesday. After a solid first run that left him in sixth place and in position for a medals charge, Miller raced a ragged second run and failed to find any rhythm and eventually finished 15th. American Tim Jitloff, meanwhile, had a breakout performance, finishing 18th after starting 37th in the first run. Jitloff, just 21 and with limited World Cup experience, said he skied with nothing to lose and brought limited expectations into the race. His finish will likely help lift those expectations for the remainder of the World Cup season.
Jimmy Cochran rounded out the U.S. finishers in 37th, breaking a pole and struggling on the top section and nearly skiing off-course after losing his balance.
"We had some good stuff going on out there and we got really close, but we fell a little short," U.S. men's coach Phil McNichol said. "It was a good performance, certainly from Ted — an outstanding second run. Bode had a bunch of mistakes on that second run and you just can't let down at all, you have to be in full-on attack mode, right to the bottom ...
"Timmy Jitloff showed speed and this certainly should give him some confidence in his next World Cup GS [March 3] in Kranjska Gora [Slovenia] ... and he just keeps improving his overall World Cup approach. Jimmy had some bad luck on that second run. So, now we regroup and come back at 'em Saturday in slalom."
Like Ligety and Cochran, Svindal also struggled on the top, but he nailed the flatter section on the bottom of the course in both runs.
“I knew right after the first run that I could be faster because my first run was good from halfway down, but the top wasn’t good at all,” he said. “So I was actually surprised that I was second when I came in. I wasn’t surprised at all that Albrecht and [Switzerland’s Marc] Berthod could be faster because I knew there was a lot more speed in the course.”
Svindal’s hope for gold were bolstered when he saw the set for run No. 2. Morin’s set was filled with sharper curves and “I saw right away that it was better for me,” Svindal said. “I like to turn and that’s what I’m good at. It was more turny and I figured if I skied well I’d be fast. And I did.”
Some notable names didn’t even get a chance at a second run. Austria’s Benni Raich skied out early in the first run, and Italy’s GS specialist Max Blardone also failed to finish. Austria, in fact, had a miserable showing Wednesday. Hermann Maier’s 21st-place result was the best the Power Team could muster. Raich’s bronze in super combined and Fritz Strobl's silver in super G are the lone medals from the Austrian men in Are.
“I’m more tired than depressed,” said Maier, the defending Olympic champ in the GS, adding that he won’t enter the team event that concludes the championships Sunday.
It marked the first time that Maier left the worlds or Olympics without a medal, and it may have been his last major competition.
Canada’s Francois Bourque can’t be much happier than Maier. Second after a scorching first run, Bourque skied out early in the second, losing his right edge, falling on his left hip and missing a gate. Teammate Jean-Philippe Roy led Canada, tied for seventh place despite having no results on the World Cup this season.
Atomic skier Albrecht, meanwhile, just missed winning his second gold at these World Championships in what has been a dominant performance by the Swiss team. The Swiss men lead the medal haul with five.
“Before I start I said, ‘take your chance, go fast,’ and that’s what I did,” Albrecht said. “I thought if [my run] was good I’d be 10th or 15th after the first run but I was first. It was a little bit scary, but I said do the same in the second run and all will be good.
“Here the important thing is to be first, second or third position, and that’s all that counts.”
The bronze medal for Cuche is a sweet reward for two years of struggles following a knee injury in 2005. On the World Cup circuit since 1993 and an Olympic silver medalist in super G in 1998, the 32-year-old Cuche said he’s already had a successful World Championships with a pair of top-six finishes in the speed events.
Cuche, with three top-10 finishes in four World Cup GS races this season, said he knew he had what it took to vie for a medal Wednesday.
“I think the key was before the second run I said to myself, just once this year you have to make a run like you can do it in the training run,” he said. “I skied so many times really fast in GS. Also, two days ago against [Bode] Miller and Svindal I was a half-second in front of them. That made me really motivated for this race, and the second run was a really good run. I was really proud of it.”
Cuche’s medal, coupled with 34-year-old Bruno Kernen’s bronze in super G, gives the Swiss veterans two medals at these worlds against the three won by youngsters Albrecht (age 23) and Berthod (23).
“It’s good to see I can ski fast against all the fresh blood,” Cuche joked.
The next men's race is the slalom and the championships conclude Sunday with the team event — up to six skiers taking two men's and two women's runs in downhill and two men's and two women's runs in slalom.
— USSA and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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