Val d'Isere Race Series Cancelled, Shiffrin Maintains Overall Lead
By Megan Harrod
December, 22 2019
With the Val d'Isere series cancelled due to weather, Mikaela Shiffrin maintains her lead in the overall by 165 points over Italy's Federica Brignone. (Dustin Satloff - Getty Images)
Unfortunately, due to strong winds and heavy snowfall, the jury together with the organizing committee at Val d'Isere France decided to cancel the women's downhill.
On Saturday, due to weather, the women's downhill was cancelled then pushed to Sunday to replace the alpine combined. With a weather pattern coming in to Val d'Isere forecasted to bring over one meter of snow, the organizers were uncertain but hopeful about the rescheduled race on Sunday. In the end, it proved to be too unsafe to hold a fair race, and the entire series has been cancelled. It is unclear when and where the races will be scheduled, but stay tuned for more information.
Current FIS Ski World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin had opted out of the weekend's races to train and focus on tech events for the upcoming Lienz, Austria giant slalom and slalom races on Dec. 28-29, which—once again—proved to be the right decision for more reasons than one. Not only did she get some valuable training in, but Mikaela maintains her lead in the overall by 165 points over Italy's Federica Brignone. And, so it seems, Mikaela even wins when it comes to the weather.
Up next for the women will be the tech series in Lienz, while Alice McKennis and the speed women have a break over the holidays and will return to action in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee on Jan. 11-12 with a downhill and an alpine combined.
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Official event hashtags: #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Strong Showing for U.S. Men at 2022 Olympic Halfpipe Venue
By Jenn Sheridan
December, 21 2019
Americans Aaron Blunk (left) and Lyman Currier (right) on the podium with Canadian Noah Bowman (center) at the Secret Garden halfpipe finals in China. (FIS Freestyle - Buchholz)
The future venue of the 2021 Freeski World Championships and the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, The Secret Garden halfpipe proved to be favorable to the U.S. men who took four of the top-five finishes with Aaron Blunck and Lyman Currier on the podium in second and third, respectively. It was a close one, but it was the cleanest run of the day that took the top spot with Canadian Noah Bowman in first place.
“It was a great experience over here," said Aaron clearly riding high from a good day. "Getting to ski in China is something I never thought I would do so the whole week I was just stoked to be out here. To get on the podium was just the cherry on top. It’s going to be a great venue for 2022.”
After a rough first couple of runs, Aaron laced it all together on his final run landing him back on the podium.
Aaron Blunk at the Secret Garden halfpipe finals in Secret Garden, China (Buchholz/FIS Freeski.)
For Lyman, getting back on the podium has been a long time coming following an ACL injury in 2014 but the hard work and dedication are paying off.
“It felt so surreal to get back on the podium after multiple seasons of trying to get back to where I was," said Lyman. "I finally feel like I found my confidence again and can put all the doubts that were in the back of my mind behind me. I’m so stoked with how I skied and I’m working to ski even better."
U.S. Freeski members Birk Irving, Jaxin Hoerter and Taylor Seaton each pieced together an impressive run to round out fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively. Hunter Hess landed in eighth and rookie Samson Schuiling finished in tenth place. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Devin Logan landed in sixth place.
Trick List
Bowman - right 360 stalefish, switch left dub 1080 safety, right 1080 tail, switch left 540 high safety, switch left dub 900 high safety
Blunck - switch left dub 900 japan, switch right dub 1080 japan, left dub flat 900 japan, right dub 1440, switch right ally-oop 720 high safety
Currier - switch left 720 truck, left dub 1260 safety, left dub 1260 mute, right 900 truck driver, left 900 tail, left ally-oop 720 nose grab
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Hall Hits Walk-Off Home Run with Big Air Win
By Andrew Gauthier
December, 21 2019
Alex Hall (center) on the podium with Antoine Adelisse (left) and Teal Harle (right) at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover freeski finals. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Alex Hall won his third-consecutive big air event at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park with a walk-off switch left double 1800 Buick. Not only did he land all three of his runs, but he finished off the night with the biggest score of the competition and locked in the freeski big air hat-trick.
“It feels great to win three in a row, but I wasn’t thinking too much about the streak,” said Alex. “I was just out there skiing and having fun. It feels insane, especially how well everyone skied, and in front of such a big crowd, it was just special to be a part of it all. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were having a ton of fun out there and just putting on a show for the people of Atlanta.”
Earlier this season, Alex earned X Games Norway big air gold, the Modena, Italy, World Cup big air, and tonight, he locked in the victory in Atlanta, Ga. in front of an energetic and supportive crowd. The Atlanta crowd may not have ever witnessed anything like tonight’s event in SunTrust Park, but that didn’t stop them from erupting upon every stomped trick.
Antoine Adellise of France finished in second and Teal Harle of Canada finished in third.
For the women, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Marin Hamill was the top finisher in qualifiers for the Americans in eighth place just two spots out of the final. Teammates Rell Harwood finish in tenth place, Caroline Claire in 12th, and grace Henderson in 14th. In finals, Swiss freeskiers Mathilde Gremaud and Giulia Tanno earned first and second place, and Great Britain’s Isabel closed out the podium in third.
The final FIS Freeski World Cup big air competition will take place in Destne, Czech Republic Feb. 28-29 which will serve as the final stop and crown the World Cup big air champions.
TRICK LIST
MEN
Alex Hall: Left double 1620 Buick (Seatbelt & Cuban), Switch left double 1800 Buick. Antoine Adelisse: Right triple 1620 Mute, Pre-grab switch triple 1440 Nose. Teal Harle: Switch left double 1800 Mute, Left double 1620 tweaked Japan.
WOMEN:
Mathilde Gremaud: Left double 1260 Safety, Right rodeo 900 Lead Tail. Giulia Tanno: Left double 1080 Safety, Switch left 1080 Tail. Isabel Atkin: RIght cork 900 Tail, Switch left 1080 Tail.
Alex Hall is the epitome of a freeskier. Born in Alaska, raised in Zurich, Switzerland and then Park City, Utah, Hall’s passion and balance for both competitive skiing and filming street and backcountry clips showcases not only his technical expertise but his adaptive style as well.
Julia Kern overcame challenging snow conditions, rain, and lightning delays to claim her first career World Cup Podium, finishing third Saturday in Planica, Slovenia. Sophie Caldwell was fourth. On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton led three Americans into the heats, finishing 12th, Kevin Bolger was 18th and Logan Hanneman was 25th.
“The conditions were so crazy and I think that was so fun and amusing,” said Julia, who kept the podium streak going for the U.S. women with the fifth-straight top-three result. “It was weird to stand on the podium, honestly it didn’t feel real, but I am sure the feeling will kick in later.”
“It was so cool to see Julia get her first podium,” Sophie said. “I knew she was going to have a good one as soon as we saw the weather forecast because she’s one of the few people who are tough enough to actually enjoy adverse conditions. It was pouring rain all day long, so the trick to the day was figuring out how to stay warm and dry between races and how to warm up before races. The conditions felt a little surreal, and we even had a delay for a thunder and lightning storm, but I would say we made the best of it and I am just so proud of Julia.”
Julia qualified 20th and stormed into the heats, which were delayed midway through due to lightning and thunder. She won her crash-filled quarterfinal heat, moving into the lead from fifth position with a powerful V1 technique to skate away from the field. In the semifinals, she pulled the same move and again staked away from the field to take the win.
“I felt really good, especially on the V1 sections and into the finish,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sophie qualified fifth. She finished second in her quarterfinal heat and then advanced to the semifinals as one of the lucky losers.
In the finals, Julia again found herself in fifth, right behind Sophie, with Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, who missed a stroke off the start, charging from the back and moving into the lead heading into the first climb. At the midway point of the race, it looked like Julia was gapped off the back, as Sophie battled for the inside line, almost running off of the snow, to move into third. But Julia dug deep to maintain contact and when Sweden’s Linn Svahn - last week’s sprint winner - fell after making contact with Sophie’s ski, it opened up the inside line for a clear sprint to the finish.
“I was really nervous the first half of the final, but then kicked into gear on the last hill,” Julia said. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling took the victory, with Stina rebounding from her poor start to finish second.
“Today was a really great day for our team,” Sophie said. “Also very cool to have all three men and two women qualify for the heats and have three in the semi and two in the final.”
With her third-place finish, Julia moved up to 25th in the overall World Cup standings. Jessie Diggins is the top Davis U.S. Cross Country Team member in third overall, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen is fourth, Sophie is 18th, and Rosie Brennan is 21st.
Up next, Julia and Sophie, and Simi and Kevin will team up for Sunday’s Team sprint.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Double Downhill Cancellation for Alpine Men and Women
By Megan Harrod
December, 21 2019
Steven Nyman throws a peace sign to the camera after taking first place for the third time in his career at Val Gardena, Italy on December, 19, 2014. (Francis Bompard - Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
As rain poured down in Val Gardena, Italy, and wreaked havoc on the Saslong track, the organizers together with the jury decided to cancel Saturday's classic men's downhill race. Over in Val d'Isere, France, snow fell throughout the night, forcing organizers to cancel Saturday's women's downhill race.
Earlier in the morning, the decision in Val Gardena was that the men would start from the reserve start (super-G start). As rain continued to fall and conditions grew more and more questionable, the decision was made to cancel the race. In Val d'Isere, the forecast is calling for over one meter of snow Sunday, but the weather was supposed to be clear on Saturday for the women's downhill. With no indication the snow will slow down, as the forecast currently looks like 100% chance for snow throughout the night and into Tuesday.
"Obviously a big bummer," said Steven Nyman after getting word about the cancellation at the venue where he's won all three of his FIS Ski World Cup victories. "It's a place where the Americans have traditionally done well. Bryce is super bummed, but that's ski racing and I am looking forward to Bormio [Italy]. I'm not sure if it's official, but they're talking about making two downhills in Bormio. That's a track I know I can do well on, so we just have to look ahead. That's part of the sport."
Last year, the American men went 4-5-6 (Bryce Bennett, Steven and Travis Ganong) in the Val Gardena downhill, starting what would be a solid streak of consistency for Bryce, in particular. In Bormio on a vertical ice rink, Bryce threw down and ended up in fourth, matching his career best at the previous race in Val Gardena—just 15 one-hundredths off the podium.
The women's program has been confirmed for Sunday, with downhill replacing the alpine combined. With the way things are shaping up in Val d'Isere, current overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin's decision to forego the downhill and alpine combined in Val d'Isere is looking to have, once again, been a very wise move—reminiscent of the her decision last year to skip the speed series in Sochi, Russia, where all races were cancelled.
Up next, the men will head to Alta Badia, Italy for a giant slalom and parallel giant slalom, where all eyes will be on Beaver Creek, Colo. winner Tommy Ford. With Val d’Isere having been cancelled, the men are chomping at the bit to ski one of their favorite tracks on the tour: the Gran Risa in Alta Badia, Italy. Tommy scored a career-best (at the time) fifth in Alta Badia in 2018, leading four Americans into the points.
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Official event hashtags: #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Corning Makes History at Visa Big Air
By Andrew Gauthier
December, 20 2019
Chris Corning on the top of the podium with Canada's Nicolas Laframboise (left) and Japan's Ryoma Kimata (right) at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard - Sarah Brunson)
Chris Corning made history Friday night at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. Not only did he win the first-ever internationally sanctioned ski and snowboard event in the southeast, but he also landed the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump.
“I feel great right now and I’m very happy to be alive after that,” Chris said jokingly. “It’s always scary trying it because I really don’t ever do it in practice or anything like that. I have to get pumped up to do that trick and let go of anything I’m thinking about. Also, it’s really cool to go to a place I have never been and take in the atmosphere. It was great to see how many people showed up and feel that support.”
Coming into the third and final run, Chris was in second place behind Canada’s Nicholas Laframboise, who was right on Corning’s tail in the FIS World Cup big air standings in second. With Friday’s competition representing the final World Cup big air of the season, there was a lot riding on the last jump of the night. Chris swept the pressure aside and cemented himself in the snowboard history books, securing the victory, the Visa Best Trick award, and the FIS World Cup Big Air Crystal Globe. Remarkably, this is the seventh Crystal Globe of his career.
U.S. Snowboard Team member Judd Henkes landed a backside triple cork 1620 on his third and final run to move into a respectable fourth place and locked down the only other trick to score in the 90’s throughout the night outside of Chris. The Atlanta crowd absolutely erupted in approval. Also, teammate Sean FitzSimons landed a pair of triple corks to solidify fifth place. The men’s U.S. Snowboard Team put on an incredible performance in a heated World Cup final.
Nicolas finished in second place at the event and in the overall World Cup standings. Japan’s Ryoma Kimata finished third.
For the women, U.S. Snowboard Team member and Olympian Julia Marino finished just outside of the podium. She certainly put on a show for the Atlanta fans, landing a cab double underflip to kick off the night on her first run. Although Jamie Andreson qualified through to finals, she elected not to compete after taking a fall during training.
Japanese riders Reira Iwabuchi and Kokomo Murase finished first and second respectively, while Canada’s Brooke Voigt rounded out the podium in third.
Competition will continue at SunTrust Park Saturday with men and women’s freeski qualifications, followed by the finals. Join us at SunTrust Park or tune in on NBCSN at 7 p.m. EST to catch the action live.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Nyman 13th, Dupratt Career-Best 22nd Despite Rough Weather in Val Gardena
By Megan Harrod
December, 20 2019
Steven Nyman finished in 13th on Friday's super-G in Val Gardena, Italy, despite numerous delays and course holds due to weather. (Alexis Boichard - Zoom Agency/Getty Images)
On a day rife with challenging weather and course holds due to fog, the 37-year-old veteran Steven Nyman remained unfazed on his favorite track of the circuit, scoring his best super-G result at Val Gardena, Italy, since 2006 to lead the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 13th.
It was a shortened super-G from the beginning, with the start lowered to Mauer 1 at 11:45am CET. From there, the fog rolled in and spiraled a bit out of control with at least eight holds before the organizers finally called the race after 48 athletes. Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr took the victory, with Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud on his heels in second by just .05 seconds, and German comeback kid Thomas Dressen rounding out the podium in third, .22 seconds out.
After Steven pulled a ballerina move at 110 km/hour in one of the fastest sections of the course in Thursday's one and only downhill training run, he refocused and pulled himself together for the super-G on Friday, despite the long course holds due to inclement weather.
"My boots were starting to hurt they were on for so long," Steven said with a laugh in the finish. "I skied really well, I had one mistake entering the Ciaslat, and they say if it wasn't for that, I could have been on the podium, but I really am happy with the way I executed overall. It's a sprint race, it's short, this super-G is always a sprint race—you gotta really gun. But from the beginning during inspection, I saw the course and it made sense to me the way they set over the terrain. I really liked it. I liked the way it flowed, and I'm happy."
Steven is also known as “King of the Saslong” for winning the downhill in 2006, 2012 and 2014. In fact, only two skiers have bested his three victories—Kristian Ghedina and Franz Klammer, each with four. Coincidentally, Steven and Bryce’s serviceman, Leo Mussi, was Kristian Ghedina’s serviceman for those four victories as well. So it’s safe to say that Leo Mussi is actually the “King of the Saslong.” Steven was also third on the Saslong in 2016. He's hoping that Friday's skiing is a good omen for Saturday's downhill in this place that is so near and dear to his heart.
"Hopefully it's a good omen for tomorrow, but again, the weather today...lots of waiting, lots of having to stay in the game and stay focused," reflected Steven. "You thought it was over, you thought it was back, you thought it was over, so you never really know, and tomorrow's going to be the same game. Luckily I've skied this a lot and I know what to do on the downhill track, so we'll see what happens. There is a lot of wetness in the snow, but the snow was still dense. They've done a great job to maintain the snow despite all of the course holds and the snow falling up top, and the rain at the bottom. I trusted my technician, I know he makes some good skis here in Gardena, so it came down to me and my performance."
Sam Dupratt, who scored his career-first World Cup points at none other than Kitzbuehel, Austria, in super-G (29th), scored a career-best on Friday when he tied for 22nd with France's Brice Roger. Sam gave big accolades to the organizer for getting the race off and making it happen.
"Today was awesome," exclaimed Sam. "Hats off to the organizer for pushing so hard to make this happen and sorry to the athletes that got cut off. Definitely the longest day in my skiing career. I had my boots off eating an apple strudel and drinking a cappuccino 10 minutes before I raced. It was super hard to be focused for so many hours leading up to it. I really needed this race to happen since my season has started off poorly. I tried to use that motivation from being slow in the past few races to fuel the focus and desire to send it in less than ideal conditions."
"Super stoked to score my personal best this week but planning to keep the ball rolling," Sam continued. "This was only my fifth World Cup super-G start, so it really helps to have some results to help convince myself that I belong here and that I can ski with the best skiers in the world."
Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Travis Ganong were also able to get out of the start gate before the race was called, but ended up outside of the top 30 in 35th and 38th, respectively. Tommy Biesemeyer was two shy of the start gate when the race was cancelled, and Jared Goldberg also was unable to start due to the cancellation.
Up next, the men will watch video and refocus for Saturday's Saslong classic downhill, a favorite of the American downhillers. Last year, the American men went 4-5-6—Bryce Bennett-Steven Nyman-Travis Ganong—on the Saslong. Time for some podium-hunting!
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Official event hashtags: #skiworldcupvalgardena, #worldcupvaldisere, #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
The Show Must Go On: Val D'Isere, Val Gardena, and Alta Badia
By Megan Harrod
December, 19 2019
Bryce Bennett—who loves Val Gardena, and has had career-bests on the track, including fourth last season—led the Americans in Thursday's downhill training run in fifth. (Alexis Boichard - Zoom Agency, Getty Images)
The FIS Alpine World Cup Tour show must go on—and indeed it will, in Val Gardena and Alta Badia, Italy for the men (“Pizza and Pasta Tour”: commence!), and Val d’Isere, France for the women.
With some tricky weather coming through Europe, bringing rain and warmer temperatures—and what sounds like A LOT of snow over the weekend in Val d’Isere, France—the men’s and women’s World Cup circuits will brace themselves and cross their fingers/hold their thumbs. Perhaps, even, they’ll pray to Ullr (God of snow) for the best outcome.
In the first of two downhill training runs in Val d’Isere, the Austrian women were the fastest skiers of the day, led by Ramona Seibenhofer. Alice McKennis led the American women in 15th, followed by a much more aggressive and confident Jackie Wiles, in 22nd, and Alice Merryweather in 44th. Of course, training days are for figuring out and dialing in line, set-up, etc—so it was a learning day for the women, who haven’t been at this venue in two years (due to weather last season).
Alice McKennis inspects the downhill course with longtime coach Alex Hoedlmoser.
“I’ve felt really confident coming into the season, and feel really good on my skis and feel like I’m in a strong body position, so it’s obviously very exciting to do well and to realize some of your goals,” reflected Alice McKennis following her training run. “But, I knew coming into the season I was skiing well, and to follow through with the skiing I had in training feels really good.” The biggest adjustment in coming back for Alice may not be finding her form, but rather learning all of the new faces on tour.
“I don’t know who anybody is,” Alice laughed. “It’s quite a lot of younger, newer faces, and I’m definitely one of the older ladies out here. But I’m enjoying it all the same, and it’s kind of cool to see some of the younger racers. It’s a very strong field and there are a lot of young women that are skiing really well technically, and I love watching that.”
The women will kick off the series with a downhill on Saturday followed by an alpine combined on Sunday. Winds are expected to be upwards of 160 km/hour on Friday, which may throw a wrench in the plans for the second downhill training day. That said, it is supposed to clear up for Saturday’s downhill. On Saturday evening, a weather pattern is coming in that is likely to dump more than a meter (100 cm) of snow on Sunday, continuing into Monday through the holiday week. At this point, the weather does not look like it will be kind to the alpine combined women in Val d’Isere, but only time will tell.
Mikaela Shiffrin, who had a tough day in Courchevel’s giant slalom on Tuesday, announced on Thursday that she will sit out the Val d’Isere series to focus on the upcoming tech events in Lienz, Austria on Dec. 28-29th. On Twitter, she shared a series of tweets as she was making her decision, confirming for fans and media on Thursday that she would be sitting the Val d'Isere series out:
At this point, with the impending weather, it seems like Mikaela’s decision will be a smart one, as she will get some valuable time training slalom and giant slalom—her bread and butter events—as well as some quality time spent over Christmas with her team and her family.
The men are primed and ready to compete at two of their favorite venues on the circuit, with stops in Val Gardena, Italy for a speed series followed by a giant slalom and parallel giant slalom on the Gran Risa at Alta Badia, Italy. Weather has been tough in Italy, with warm temperatures and rain, as thick fog forced the cancellation of Wednesday's downhill training run. Thursday’s first and final downhill training run proved to be a success for the Americans, with Bryce Bennett—who loves Val Gardena, and has had career-bests on the track, including fourth last season—leading the Americans in fifth, followed by teammate Jared Goldberg in eighth, Travis Ganong in 26th, Ryan Cochran-Siegle 28th, Sam Morse 34th, Wiley Maple 49th, Sam Dupratt 58th and Tommy Biesemeyer 67th.
Steven Nyman, also known as “King of the Saslong” for winning the downhill in 2006, 2012 and 2014—only two skiers have bested his three victories—Kristian Ghedina and Franz Klammer, each with four. Coincidentally, Steven and Bryce’s serviceman, Leo Mussi, was Kristian Ghedina’s serviceman for those four victories as well. So it’s safe to say that Leo Mussi is actually the “King of the Saslong.” In Thursday’s training run, Steven finished last. Now, you may all be scratching your heads at his time, which was 7.69 seconds off Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud’s pace. “Why?” you may ask? Well, because in one of the fastest sections of the course, Steven pulled a ballerina move at 110 km/hour.
“It's wet and currently drizzling. It's been this way for a few days,” Steven said of the weather in Val Gardena. “Today we got a window in the morning to get the run done and it happened! The snow was good and held up. They did a great job with prep considering. There's a new section on the track that is interesting. It is before the Mauer jumps. The jumps were big with some kicks to them, which will be shaved down to remove the kicks for Saturday. And, I did a ballerina move on the last turn. I caught an edge and it spun me around but I somehow didn't catch another edge and flap down I stayed on my feet going backwards into the net but did a reverse wedge pulled it off and kept going.” He is lucky to have walked away from that one unscathed.
Bryce, who led the way in 2018, in fourth, says Val Gardena holds a special place in his heart. “Val Gardena has a soft spot in my heart,” he said in an interview to the International Ski Federation (FIS) earlier this fall. “I enjoy Italy, especially that part of Italy, and the course itself fits my skiing style. I've also done well there a number of times so that always helps. My main motivation is classic downhills…downhills with history.” With the fifth-fastest time on Thursday, despite some mistakes, Bryce knows what he has to do to make up time. And, rest assured, he will.
On the men’s giant slalom side, all eyes will be on Beaver Creek, Colo. winner Tommy Ford. With Val d’Isere having been cancelled, the men are chomping at the bit to ski one of their favorite tracks on the tour: the Gran Risa in Alta Badia, Italy. Tommy scored a career-best (at the time) fifth in Alta Badia in 2018, leading four into the points.
It’s bound to be an action-packed weekend, so make sure to tune in! See below for all of the details on who and how to watch.
MEN’S STARTERS
VAL GARDENA
Bryce Bennett
Tommy Biesemeyer
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Sam Dupratt
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Wiley Maple
Sam Morse
Steven Nyman
ALTA BADIA
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Tommy Ford
Ted Ligety
Brian McLaughlin
River Radamus
WOMEN’S STARTERS
Alice McKennis
Alice Merryweather
Jackie Wiles
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL Instagram Facebook Twitter
Official event hashtags: #skiworldcupvalgardena, #worldcupvaldisere, #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
U.S. Snowboardcross Team Set for Cervinia World Cup
By Andrew Gauthier
December, 18 2019
Hagen Kearney at the 2018 FIS Snowboardcross World Cup in Cervinia, Italy. (FIS Snowboard - Miha Matavz)
With one FIS Snowboardcross World Cup under their belt in Montafon, Austria, members of the U.S. Snowboardcross Team head to Cervinia, Italy for their second stop on the tour.
In the course of two years of organizing the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup, Italy’s Cervinia resort proved itself as a top-tier World Cup venue, with the course’s huge, sweeping turns and multiple passing areas lending themselves to thrilling back-and-forth racing throughout the competition.
Lindsey Jacobellis will lead the way for the U.S. following a solid fifth-place finish at the first race of the year in Austria. After just missing the big final in Montafon, and knowing Lindsey’s fearless determination, she will surely be looking to add another podium to her collection in Cervinia.
For the men, Hagen Kearney is coming off a respectable 10th-place finish in Montafon followed by teammates Jake Vedder and Nick Baumgartner in eleventh and twelfth respectively. Cervinia will be a great opportunity to break through into the semi-final rounds of competition.
U.S. Snowboardcross Team
Men
Hagen Kearney
Nick Baumgartner
Alex Deibold
Mick Dierdorff
Jake Vedder
Senna Leith
Mikey Lacroix
Saturday, Dec. 21
4:50 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - Olympic Channel*
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
Twenty Americans to Compete at 2022 Olympic Halfpipe Venue
By Andrew Gauthier
December, 18 2019
Following halfpipe competition at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo., twenty Americans are headed to Secret Garden, China for the second northern hemisphere FIS Freeski and Snowboard World Cup competition of the season Dec. 19-21.
The Secret Garden halfpipe will be 2022 Olympic venue and will provide athletes with a preview for what they can expect on the world’s biggest stage. Hunter Hess is returning to compete at Secret Garden where he earned his first-ever World Cup podium with a third-place finish last season. He shared the podium with an elite group including Canadian X Games gold medalist Simon D’Artois who won the event and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Nico Porteous who finished second.
In addition to Hess, the freeski roster looks strong including Aaron Blunck, who is coming off of two consecutive podiums at the NZ Winter Games World Cup and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix World Cup. U.S. Freeski Pro Team athlete Birk Irving kicked off the season with a victory at the NZ Winter Games after landing both a double cork 1440 and a never-been-done, gravity-defying, down the pipe double cork 720.
For the snowboarders, Maddie Mastro is coming in hot off her third-consecutive podium appearance at Copper Mountain with a third-place finish. Also, Chase Blackwell who made finals at the Copper Grand Prix will join teammate Ryan Wachendorfer this weekend.
Tune in live to catch all the action!
SNOWBOARD ATHLETES
U.S. Snowboard Pro Team
Maddie Mastro
Chase Blackwell
Ryan Wachendorfer
Americans
Josh Bowman
FREESKI ATHLETES U.S Freeski Pro Team
Aaron Blunck
Alex Ferreira
Hunter Hess
Taylor Seaton
Birk Irving
Abigale Hansen
Devin Logan
U.S. Freeski Rookie Team
Svea Irving
Hunter Carey
Jaxin Hoerter
Cassidy Jarrell
Connor Ladd
Dylan Ladd
Sammy Schuiling
SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Dec. 21
10:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin bega
