Schlamding, Austria – Jean-Baptiste Grange of France won his second consecutive Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom under the lights in Schladming Tuesday night. Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was 0.04 back in second place and Mattias Hargin, also of Sweden, was third.nNolan Kasper, of Warren, Vt., produced the second fastest final run to finish 13th. Utah’s Ted Ligety crossed the line in 19th, while U.S. teammate David Chodounsky finished 22nd for third point scoring result in slalom this season. Bode Miller, of Franconia, N.H., did not start Tuesday night’s race, opting to rest and train in the U.S. prior to the World Championships and will also miss the races this weekend in Chamonix, France. Ligety will also skip the races in Chamonix and will instead focus on training.
“Bode put in a fantastic effort over the past two weeks in Wengen and Kitzbuehel. He had planned to take Chamonix off,” explained U.S. Ski Team men’s Head Coach, Sasha Rearick. “But we made an athletic management decision after Kitzbuehel for him to start that break earlier so he comes in fresh for the training camp prior to the Hinterstoder World Cup.”
Rearick was pleased with Kasper’s 13th place finish Tuesday night. “Nolan threw down two good runs, especially the second run,” he said. “He’s been there before second run and went full attack. That’s what you have to do in those situations.”
“The tactics are a lot different when you start second as opposed to 53 in the first run,” Kasper explained. “I knew I could take advantage of a clean course and charge.
“We find out the World Champs Team tomorrow. Hopefully I’m involved in that list and my skiing continues to be strong,” he added. “From here I head to some Europa Cups and then to a World Cup GS and slalom before Worlds.”
Canada’s skiers didn’t get the results they were hoping for on Tuesday, but the men’s team got a glimpse of a bright future thanks to a promising debut from 19-year-old Erik Read. Although he didn’t finish his debut run at a World Cup, Read – son of Crazy Canuck Ken Read – delivered a gutsy performance in front of a crowd of about 50,000 ski fans.
“I’m pretty excited still. It was a really cool experience – I’m just enjoying it,” said Read, of Calgary, Alberta, who added he was a little disappointed to go out near the end of his first run. “Right at the bottom I just kind of got chucked out. The conditions were challenging but it was really cool and I definitely have more motivation to work hard and get here again.”
Michael Janyk, of Whistler, British Columbia, led the way for his team once again with a 14th-place finish as three Canadians placed in the top 30 to earn World Cup points. Trevor White, of Calgary, Alberta, was 23rd and Banff’s Paul Stutz 25th. Read and Julien Cousineau, of Lachute, Quebec, didn’t finish their first runs and Calgary’s Brad Spence had been skiing well in his first run before he went out. Patrick Biggs, of Orleans, Ontario, was disqualified during his second run.
“As a group they are pretty disappointed,” said Canadian Alpine Ski Team Head Coach, Paul Kristofic. “It’s back to the drawing board, starting to focus on the World Championships.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Schladming, Austria – Jan. 25, 2011
Slalom
1. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 1:46.54
2. Andre Myhrer, Sweden, 1:46.58
3. Mattias Hargin, Sweden, 1:47.14