Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety reports regularly from the World Cup tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — This is one of my favorite giant slalom hills, and my win here last year was part of a late-season surge that carried me to the GS title.
I won again Saturday, keeping me mathematically in the hunt for another title, although realistically the goal has to be finishing second behind Didier Cuche of Switzerland.
The ski area is really small. Apart from the race hill, there are a couple of bunny slopes, so it’s not a place you’d go for a hard-core ski vacation. It is a super-cool valley, though, nestled right up against the rocks. Very picturesque.
It’s only about 45 minutes from Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, and it’s really close to Austria, so there are always good crowds. The man who prepares my skis is from a town about 20 minutes away, and he has a bunch of family and friends that come up. They all made a big Ted Ligety Fan Club poster for me.
It’s a big boost going to a hill where you’ve had success, and it’s a course where you know you can do well. Contrast that with the week before in Sestriere, Italy, where I went out in the first run and made it almost impossible to claim the GS title. Sestriere is really flat at the top, and the course was set really straight. I knew it wasn’t a good scenario for me.
Kranjska Gora starts out steep with rolls across the middle section that have a really good rhythm. Then there’s a really good pitch at the bottom. It’s very technical.
My head coach, Sasha Rearick, set the course for the second run (course-setters are picked in random draws), and it was a good one for me — really turny. That’s something we don’t have very often on the tour in GS, and courses like that play to my strengths.
It got really warm, and for some reason I always do well when it gets warm and the snow gets soft. It’s kind of funny how all four of my career GS wins have been in slushy conditions.
With one GS left in the season, I’m in a close battle with Austria’s Benjamin Raich for second place. I’m 73 points behind Cuche, so it would be a big task to deprive him of the title. Even if he crashes in the last race, I’d have to finish first or second to overtake him. If Cuche falls and I win, Raich could still win the title by finishing second.
