WHISTLER, British Columbia — In our first giant slalom race in more than a month, I finished fourth Saturday and moved up to second place in the GS standings with two GS races left in the season.
I’m 23 points behind Benjamin Raich of Austria.
The GS course at Whistler, where the Olympics will be held in 2010, is kind of moderate. It has only one steep section, at the top, and then it’s very moderate and rolling at the bottom. That means it’s not a good hill for me.
On top of that, the course that was set was more like a super-G than a GS, another thing that doesn’t play to my strengths. It wasn’t the best course for my attributes, so finishing fourth is an acceptable result.
It was tough to swallow, though, because it seems like I get fourth a lot. It was the third time this season. I also was fourth — one place removed from the podium — three times on the World Cup last season and once at the world championships.
I was really interested to find out where everyone’s GS form would be after going more than a month without a race. Didier Cuche of Switzerland definitely has it back — he was second Saturday with two good runs — and Raich looked good after having some mediocre slalom results recently.
Hannes Reichelt of Austria, who won Saturday, just catches fire for some reason when he comes to North America. He was second in last week’s super-G and he’s won super-Gs twice at Beaver Creek.
For me to finish right there with two speed guys — on a GS that skied more like a super-G — and Raich is a good race for me.
Now I get to take a week break in Park City before going to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, next week for the next-to-last GS of the season. Kranjska is a hill that plays to my skill set a lot better. So does the hill in Bormio, Italy, where the World Cup finals will be held March 12-16.
I’m super-psyched. I’ve been fast in training. It’s just a matter of putting together two solid runs without a major mistake.
Raich has won Kranjska the past two years and was second in GS when the world championships were in Bormio in 2005, so it won’t be easy to overtake him. I would have to beat him both races, but if I ski well, it could happen.
Ted Ligety, the Olympic combined champion, reports regularly from the World Cup ski tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
