ALPINE SKI WORLD CUP. BEAVER CREEK USA – It’s no secret that Ted Ligety is in his own league in Giant Slalom, and today was no different. The American, who won the opening Giant Slalom in Soelden by an unimaginable 2.75 seconds, skied his way far ahead in Beaver Creek once again. With a time of 2 minutes, 25.59 seconds “Ted the Shred” once again won with an impressive margin. Marcel Hirscher was the one to get the closest – finishing second, 1.76 seconds behind. Third place goes to Italy, with Davide Simoncelli 2.07 seconds off the fastest time.

“It was a good one for sure,” were Ligety’s first words after his run.

“I am surprised by the margin. It was tough today, the snow was not super easy so I am psyched with the win!”

It’s Ligety’s 13th victory; the third one on the Birds of Prey and wining in front of a home crowd is always a little special.

“My whole friends and family were here today, and a bunch of kids from the Park City Ski Team so it’s really cool to have a ‘homish’ crowd even when you are still a six hour drive from home – it’s always a fun experience racing in Beaver Creek.”

The question comes natural, how much faster can Ligety go and where does he see his limit being this season?

“I don’t know, it’s really hard to say – I don’t really know if I can go any faster, but we will see, I definitely will try to.”

A second place is never bad but when you are one of the best skiers in the world and there is a guy out there that seems to take tenths of a second away from a run so easily, it can for sure be frustrating.

Third place went to Simoncelli, proving for the third day in a row that the Italian team has worked well and is feeling good on the American snow. Coming back from a terrible injury, which had him question whether he would be able to even compete this season, Simoncelli is nothing but pleased by how things are developing. Everyone who knew what he has been through in the past couple of months knows how much this podium means to the Italian.

“I came to Beaver with a lot of doubts. I was not skiing the way I wanted and the times in training were not all that good. Then, I skied really well in the first run. I was not sure if I was fast, but after seeing my time I realized I was doing things right. I was a bit worried second run might be rougher to ski as I was starting with a higher number, but it all went as perfectly as it could. I’m also really happy when i realized I was strong enough to do two full runs without feeling much of the consequences from my summer crash and surgery.

If the technical specialists are enjoying the course, the speed guys are trying to find a last bit of energy after two weeks of almost constant racing. There were a lot of tired skiers crossing the finish line today. The closest one to a top spot, with a great second run was Aksel Lund Svindal who after two second places in the Downhill and Super G finished sixth today, just ahead of his teammate Jansrud.

The men’s Tour continues in Val d’Isere next weekend with a Giant Slalom and Slalom.

by Ana Jelusic
FISalpine.com
Sunday 2 December 2012