ALPINE SKI WORLD CUP. ALTA BADIA, Italy – Ted Ligety wins again! The American skier was once again in a different league and for the second time this season he won a Giant Slalom race with a margin greater then two seconds.

Marcel Hirscher was having a great second run and was able to hold on to his second place, finishing 2.04 seconds behind Ligety. In third place, Thomas Fanara who after finishing fourth in the first run stepped up his game and landed on the podium.

Ted Ligety skied on what could have easily have been a different course than everyone else. He made a couple of mistakes in the second run but still managed to keep his speed high and finish far ahead of the rest.

“I was trying to charge a little bit but I kept making mistakes,” Ligety said.  “It was a lot rougher send aster a little while I decided to et it back a gear so I don’t completely blow the advantage I had. I was still skiing 100%, and decided to go down to 95 just to stay on the safe side. It was a rough ride.”

Back in 1979 Stenmark won with the biggest margin in World Cup history, leaving Bojan Krizaj 4.06 seconds behind in second place. When Ligety finished 2.40 seconds ahead in the first run, breaking the record seemed possible.

“Part of me wants to break that Stenmark record of 4.06, that’s why I went into the second run charging so hard but after those mistakes it wasn’t worth taking that much risk.”

Marcel Hirscher started six technical races this year and placed on the podium on all six – not a bad way to start the season for the Austrian.

“All we can do at this point is respect what Ted is doing. I am happy with my season so far and my focus will remain skiing. I am headed to Madonna di Campiglio first, then the Alpine Rockfest and then I might take a little break over the Christmas holidays before planning the rest of the season.”

3.73 seconds behind the leading time normally isn’t considered a great result, but when that time lands you on the podium one can’t complain too much. Fanara saw his third place as a good Christmas gift and great motivation to kick off 2013 with more great results.

“I have been skiing well in training and I knew a good result was due soon,” a happy Fanara said. “I was a bit unlucky at the beginning of the season and never performed as well as I knew I could so to end the year with this third place is a great satisfaction. I feel good and I really hope that in Adelboden, my next race I can do the same. I definitely want to analyze Ted’s first run and see what I can take from his skiing to make myself ski faster n the future.

The most used word one could hear in the finish are is UFO – the Italian word for Alien – and Ligety definitely seems to be from a different planet in Giant Slalom at the moment.

The Tour is now quickly moving to Madonna di Campiglio where Tuesday the best Slalom skiers in the world will compete in a night Slalom. Start times are 17.54 and 20.45 CET.

by Ana Jelusic
FISalpine.com
Sunday 16 December 2012