Austrian Reinfried Herbst edged Croation Ivica Kostelic and reigning World Cup slalom champion Jean-Baptiste Grange for the sixth slalom victory of his career. Herbst, a 31-year-old veteran, actually sat in fourth after the opening run before a near flawless second run boosted him to the win.
Levi also marked the return of Franconia, N.H.'s Bode Miller to World Cup racing and the U.S. Ski Team, yet he wasn't able to finish the second run after getting hit in the face with a gate.
Ligety was seventh after the first run and leading by .37 at the first split of the second run before running into trouble on the steeps. The same tricky section slowed first run leader Andre Myhrer of Sweden, who dropped to 11th.
"Half of the top 30 had second run trouble at the top of the steeps and Ted was one of those guys," said U.S. Ski Team Men's Technical Head Coach Rudi Soulard. "They were coming over the pitch with speed, then getting kicked out and ending up below the next gate. From there it was tough to regain rhythm."
Miller was fast through the first series of the second run before getting slammed across the nose, blurring his vision for a few seconds and forcing him to stop.
"His nose was bleeding pretty badly and he has a fat lip, but he's OK," said Soulard. "His skiing is not where he needs to be yet, but he was able to get a second run and he's doing all the right things to get there."
After starting mid pack in the first run, Jimmy Cochran of Keene, N.H. arced to 26th, then hopped seven more places to pick up a few World Cup points, and more importantly, improve his starting position in slalom by finishing right behind Ligety.
"Jimmy did a good job. He started 46 and skied to 19th. The goal for him was to make the top 30, but now with this result, he's probably back in the top 30 start list for slalom," said Soulard.
Young gun Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.) and Tim Jitloff (Reno, Nev.) failed to make the second run as Kasper lost his rhythm down the pitch and Jitloff straddled near the top of the first run.
"Nolan skied pretty well for his first World Cup start. He had the same problems as all the other guys on the steep, but did well for his first big race. And Jit was flying in the first run, but straddled. That's slalom and he wasn't holding back, that's the important part," said Soulard.
Janyk 14th to lead Canadians
Canadian slalom champion Michael Janyk of Whistler, British Columbia had an impressive debut to his season, finishing 14th in a two-run combined time of 1:51.46.
“I had been feeling a little rushed and busy leading up to Levi but in the last couple days I’ve been feeling really good and ready to race,” said Janyk. “To get that first run out of the way, it felt good to say ‘okay, we’re back in it.’ I had a great second run, I was just too far off after the first run to make up too many places. But it feels really good to be racing again.”
Canadian teammates Trevor White (Calgary, Alberta) placed 22nd with Julien Cousineau (Lachute, Quebec) following closely in 24th. White snuck into the top 30, grabbing the last qualifying spot after the first run, but improved his position significantly, finishing in 22nd with a two-run time of 1:52.63. Cousineau put two solid runs together, making it three Canadians in the top 30 with a 24th place finish in 1:53.64.
As for other Canadians, Brad Spence (Calgary, Alberta) narrowly missed qualifying for the second run, finishing the opening run 33rd, while Patrick Biggs (Orleans, Ontario) was 39th and Ryan Semple (Montreal, Quebec) placed 42nd in the opening run. Jean-Philippe Roy (Ste-Flavie/Gatineau, Quebec) did not complete his opening run.
“I would say in the end that it was a pretty mediocre result. We saw some really good parts from all three guys today but none of them put together two really good runs,” said Canadian men’s team head coach Paul Kristofic. “It gives us a very clear picture of where we are and what we need to improve. The guys came in feeling strong and came out with some clarity, and in the end some reasonable results. Nothing to get too excited about but a solid start.”
While Janyk now heads to an invitational dual slalom race in Moscow, Russia on Nov. 21, his teammates on the men’s tech team return to Canada to continue training. The U.S. technical Team now returns to Colorado to prepare for the Audi Birds of Prey Race week set for Dec. 4-6 in Beaver Creek. It will be the lone men's World Cup stop in America prior to the Olympics.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
Levi, Finland – Nov. 15, 2009
Men's Slalom
1. Reinfried Herbst, Austria, 1:49.79
2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 1:50.07
3. Jean-Baptiste Grange, France, 1:50.32
4. Matias Hargin, Sweden, 1:50.34
5. Julien Lizeroux, France, 1:50.70
