Zagreb, Croatia - Jean-Baptiste Grange of France won the Audi FIS World Cup slalom in Zagreb Tuesday, solidifying his spot in the lead of the overall and slalom World Cup standing. The U.S. Ski Team's Cody Marshall (Pittsfield, VT) finished 21st to lead the U.S. after Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was disqualified over an equipment issue.
"I'm definitely happy with the day," Marshall said. "It's nice to score some points. In my second run I made a little bit of a mistake in the middle section, but I thought I skied the pitch really well. I want to carry this momentum."

Marshall, who started the first run with the 48th bib and finished just outside the flip, was boosted to the second run after reigning overall World Cup champion Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was disqualified.

Marshall's second run, which had him finishing 21st overall, was solid according to U.S. Ski Team Men's Alpine Head Coach Sasha Rearick.

"Cody has been skiing really well in training and we've been excited about that. In the second run he skied solid," Rearick said. "It was his first second run of the year and it was nice to see. It was a step in the right direction."

Rearick sees this progress by Marshall as a sign of things to come if he keeps his pace.

"Cody has taken a step in the right direction. We knew he was able to do it," Rearick said. "Now we go into the month of January to build momentum and he is in a good place to do that."

Miller had initially made the second run with 29th, but was disqualified for racing with boots that failed the World Cup equipment test. Miller, who's boots were .2mm too high, had decided to use a new pair Tuesday morning, but hadn't had them tested to see if they met FIS regulations.

World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was in the lead throughout his second run until he missed a gate and had to hike to make his turn.

"In Ted's first run it was pretty foggy and I think he handled that. The second run he skied really well up top and then on the flat he came to his inside ski a little too quickly and stopped," Rearick said. "Once he hiked back in I was pleased with his skiing, but it wasn't a good day for Ted. He can ski better than that."

The men next compete in a giant slalom and slalom in Adelboden, Austria Jan. 10-11.

"We're looking forward to racing there on the very challenging hill in Adelboden," Rearick said.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 AUDI FIS WORLD CUP
Zagreb, Croatia - Jan. 6, 2009
Men's Slalom

1. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 1:53.31
2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 1:53.36
3. Giuliano Razzoli, Italy, 1:53.66
4. Manfred Moelgg, Italy, 1:53.76
5. Johan Brolenius, Sweden, 1:54.08