WINTER PARK, Colo.—Ted Ligety’s way of unwinding from a wearing winter of ski racing involves one thing.
More skiing.
Ligety, the reigning World Cup giant slalom winner, really has few other hobbies. And with the snow in his hometown of Park City, Utah, beckoning this time of year, the skis won’t go into the closet anytime soon—if at all.
Ligety’s offseason to-do list is quite extensive, starting with the U.S. championships Thursday as he competes in the giant slalom against up-and-comers in the ski program.
He also will attend a series of slalom and super-G training camps that stretch into July, part of the commitment it takes to become an overall World Cup champion.
“I have the skill set to do it and I’m working in the right direction,” Ligety said. “It’s just a matter of the skiing has to be there. You can’t be worrying about training to get better during the season. You have to have that fully out of the way by the time you enter the year.”
There will be no vacations to warm locales for Ligety. Some snowmobiling, definitely. But that’s the extent of his plans—other than hitting the slopes, of course.
Ligety doesn’t want to lose any momentum after capturing his third giant slalom World Cup trophy in four years. The 26-year-old opened the season with a three-race winning streak at Beaver Creek, Colo.; Val d’Isere, France; and Alta Badia, Italy, and never looked back. He finished 77 points ahead of Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.
He hopes to be known as more than just a one-event specialist, possibly even become more of a factor in the overall race after finishing well behind champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia.
To do that, Ligety has to be good—or even just solid—in more than the giant slalom. He didn’t have a top-10 finish in the downhill or super-G this season, and his best finish in the slalom was sixth place.
“This summer, I’m going to put in a lot of more volume than I have before, especially on the slalom side of things,” said Ligety, who also won the GS title at the world championships this season, an achievement he ranked up there with taking gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics. “I feel like I have a lot of room for improvement. I just need more days on snow.”
He’s attempting to make that happen, attending a slalom session in Park City in a few weeks and then a super-G refresher course in May. He will attend another slalom gathering at Mount Hood in July.
Then, the real training begins, starting with team camps in New Zealand in August and Chile in September.
“There’s not that much time off,” Ligety said, chuckling.
Just the way he prefers it, although he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time in Park City. Hardly home for a week, he had to once again pack up and hit the road.
At least this time the excursion didn’t involve a plane ride halfway around the world, only a 400-mile car trip as he takes part in one more giant slalom race before the curtain closes on the competitive season.
The U.S. championships this weekend feature some of the brightest youngsters eager to compete against a lineup of formidable veterans. Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso will be on hand, along with Steven Nyman and Sarah Schleper. Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller aren’t scheduled to compete.
Ligety vows to hold nothing back, even if he’s fatigued from a demanding World Cup season and there’s little on the line except bragging rights.
He knows all too well what can happen with a blase attitude. Ligety wiped out during a downhill training run at nationals in 2009, crashing face-first at Alaska’s Alyeska resort, leaving him with partially torn ligaments in his right knee, a bloody nose and lip.
Although Ligety didn’t require surgery, his knee was immobilized for weeks, costing him valuable training time.
“It can be pretty dangerous to ski race, with your mind only half in it,” Ligety said. “It’s definitely important not to be too lackadaisical with it.”
Ligety may be the World Cup GS champion, but he hardly sees himself as the overwhelming favorite in Thursday’s race. After all, Tommy Ford of Bend, Ore., won the giant slalom at nationals last year, while University of Denver’s Seppi Stiegler recently captured a GS crown at the NCAA championships in Stowe, Vt.
They’re all eager for a shot at knocking off the world’s best.
“It will also be cool to race against Ted,” said 22-year-old Tommy Biesemeyer, who recently won the NorAm overall title. “He’s the best GS skier in the world. Us young guys, we can watch and learn from him.
“And try to beat him.”
Given the talent level of rising U.S. skiers, Ligety’s treating them with the same regard as he would competing against Svindal or Carlo Janka of Switzerland on the World Cup circuit.
“I was the best giant slalom skier this year,” Ligety said, “and I don’t want to get beat.”
