ALTA BADIA, ITALY — It was one of best days in the history of the U.S. Ski Team: In last Saturday’s World Cup downhill at Val Gardena, two Americans finished in the top five, five in the top 10, six in the top 15 and seven in the top 30.
Bode Miller was second, Marco Sullivan fourth, Erik Fisher seventh, Steve Nyman ninth and T.J. Lanning 10th.
I watched the race on television here in Alta Badia, another Italian resort where I had a giant slalom on Sunday and a slalom on Monday. It was pretty cool watching all those guys do so well, especially Fisher, who started 52nd, and Sullivan, who just missed the podium.
I wish I could have been part of something like that. It’s one of the most famous downhills in the world, and it was inspiration for all of us watching in Alta Badia, getting ready to race the next day.
The biggest surprise was Fisher racing into the top 10 from such a high start number. That was unbelievable.
Fisher played high school football on a team in Middleton, Idaho, that produced a couple guys on the Boise State team that shocked Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. He’s a really good athlete and he has awesome gliding skills. He can turn the skis, too, so I think he will be good in years to come. He’s only 23.
In Sunday’s GS I was fourth, which is like getting the wooden spoon. It’s not that bad of a result, but I had the potential to do much better there. Then I finished 12th in Monday’s slalom, which was pretty disappointing.
Tuesday I fly back to Utah to spend some time with my family, and on New Year’s Eve I fly to Russia for a slalom on a man-made slope built in Moscow on a scaffolding 56 meters high and 150 meters long. I’m really looking forward to that.
Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety, the reigning World Cup giant slalom champion, reports regularly from the tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
