KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Ted Ligety must have smiled when the World Cup giant slalom scheduled for Adelboden was rescheduled for Kranjska Gora, one of his favorite hills.
Ligety won his first World Cup race of the season Friday, carving over the Pokoren 3 course in a combined time of 2 minutes, 22.02 seconds to win the event for the third consecutive year. It was his third podium of the season and fifth career victory.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Ligety, who will be part of the U.S. alpine team headed to the Vancouver Olympics next month. “I’ve always had a good feeling on this hill, and I have been lucky enough to win three times. I feel like I am always doing better toward the end of the season.”
The race switched venues after fog scratched the event in Adelboden, Switzerland.
“It’s definitely a big advantage for me having done so well here in the past,” Ligety said. “I have never done well in Adelboden.”
Marcel Hirscher of Austria was .34 seconds back in second. Kjetil Jansrud of Norway took third, .51 behind Ligety. U.S. Olympian Tommy Ford finished 21st.
Bode Miller skipped the race to rest a sore ankle before the Olympics.
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway led Ligety by .01 seconds after the opening run on the technically demanding hill, but had a poor start and lost time throughout his second run. The defending overall World Cup champion finished fourth, .82 seconds behind.
Ligety overtook Benjamin Raich of Austria for first place in the GS standings with 292 points. Raich and Massimiliano Blardone of Italy share second at 259 with two races left.
• Olympic medal contender Didier Cuche broke his right thumb, putting his participation at the Vancouver Games in doubt. The Swiss ski federation said Cuche traveled to Switzerland and will have surgery today in Zurich.
Vonn third, extends lead
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn extended her lead in the overall World Cup standings, skiing a cautious slalom run to finish third in a super combined won by Sweden’s Anja Paerson.
Vonn earned 60 World Cup points to build a 116-point lead over Germany’s Maria Riesch, who skied out of the super-G in the first run. Vonn said her mind-set switched after Riesch misjudged her line and skied left of a gate near the bottom.
“That definitely changed my tactics quite a bit in the slalom run,” the Vail resident said. “If (Maria) would have finished and been competitive in the super-G, I would have had to risk a lot more. I took it easy and made it down.”
Paerson clocked 2 minutes, .54 seconds in the combined super-G and slalom runs. She celebrated her 41st career World Cup win — fourth on the all-time list — with her trademark belly slide in the finish area.
Michaela Kirchgasser of Austria was second, .43 behind, and Vonn trailed by .92 after being second-fastest in the super-G.
The Associated Press
