Levi, Finland – Defending Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom champion Andre Myhrer of Sweden won today’s foggy slalom held north of the Arctic Circle in Levi by a narrow .06 margin over reigning overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria, as warm air pushed temperatures into the high 30’s, causing thick fog to loom over both runs and rain to soften the course.
“It feels great to start the season with a win,” said a confident Myhrer. “This means I can continue to do what I have been doing so far; there is less stress when you start like this.”
With a 0.27-second deficit after the first run, Hirscher put forth a strong effort to catch the Swede, but couldn’t make up the last 0.06 seconds to take the win. Jens Byggmark of Sweden rounded out the podium on Sunday in third.
Three-time World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah, who was victorious in the opening World Cup race at Soelden, Austria two weeks ago, finished 13th on Sunday. His U.S. teammates Will Brandenburg landed 15th, David Chodounsky skied out in the second run and Nolan Kasper did not qualify for the top 30 final.
Ligety’s preparation for Levi was hampered by difficult weather in Europe, while Brandenburg and Chodounsky experience excellent weather and snow conditions in Colorado.
“Ted [Ligety] had a tough training period after Soelden,” explained Mike Day, the U.S. Ski Team’s men’s technical head coach. “We kind of got beaten up by Mother Nature everywhere we tried to train, but his skiing is far better than what it was today. He’s ready to make a move in slalom.”
The U.S. men now return to Colorado to prep for the opening of the speed season at Lake Louise, AB and Beaver Creek with a block of training at the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain ahead of the annual Audi Birds of Prey race week scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Beaver Creek.
The Canadian men leave Finland disappointed after failing to place any skier in the top 30 and thus qualify for a second run. Veterans Mike Janyk and Julien Cousineau finished 32nd and 38th, respectively, while youngsters Trevor Philp and Sasha Zaitsoff placed 43rd and 59th in the first run.
“It wasn’t acceptable,” said Pete Bosinger, head coach of Canada’s men’s alpine team. “It’s not something we are going to panic about – we’ve just got to change our approach.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Levi, Finland – Nov. 11, 2012
Men’s Slalom
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 7 | MYHRER Andre | 1983 | SWE | 53.86 | 55.69 | 1:49.55 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 6 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 54.13 | 55.48 | 1:49.61 | 0.34 |
| 3 | 16 | BYGGMARK Jens | 1985 | SWE | 54.17 | 55.99 | 1:50.16 | 3.45 |
| 4 | 24 | MOELGG Manfred | 1982 | ITA | 54.40 | 55.88 | 1:50.28 | 4.13 |
| 5 | 13 | THALER Patrick | 1978 | ITA | 54.79 | 55.71 | 1:50.50 | 5.38 |
| 6 | 23 | HERBST Reinfried | 1978 | AUT | 55.44 | 55.15 | 1:50.59 | 5.89 |
| 7 | 3 | NEUREUTHER Felix | 1984 | GER | 54.44 | 56.21 | 1:50.65 | 6.23 |
| 8 | 2 | KOSTELIC Ivica | 1979 | CRO | 54.77 | 56.14 | 1:50.91 | 7.70 |
| 9 | 12 | HARGIN Mattias | 1985 | SWE | 54.50 | 56.55 | 1:51.05 | 8.49 |
| 10 | 47 | SCHMID Philipp | 1986 | GER | 55.01 | 56.05 | 1:51.06 | 8.55 |