Swiss skiers were the only ones to take medals in all three races of the FIS Alpine World Cup stop in Beaver Creek, Colorado (USA) over the weekend, led by the reigning World Cup Downhill champion, Beat Feuz.
Feuz is no stranger to North American courses, having won at Lake Louise (CAN) last season. This time he started seventh in the order and flew down the famed Birds of Prey course to take the lead from France’s Adrien Theaux and no one else could keep up. Teammate Mario Caviezel came on for second and Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) – who had won three of the last four Downhills at Beaver Creek – had to settle for third.
The Super-G race was a victory for the second week in a row for Max Franz (AUT), after he won the Lake Louise Downhill. Caviezel got second in this race too, with Svindal in a rare, three-way tie with Dominik Paris (ITA) and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR). Caviezel also won a medal in this race for the second straight week after a bronze at Lake Louise.
The season’s first Giant Slalom was expected to be another Marcel Hirscher (AUT) vs. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) battle and Hirscher looked sharp on the first run and took the lead. But then German Stefan Luitz , who had never won a World Cup race– at age 26 – flew through the turns and had the fastest time in the run and was well clear of everyone except Hirscher.
They were 29 and 30 in the order on the second run and it showed: Luitz was only 11th-fastest on the run and Hirscher was 10th, but they still finished 1-2. It was Luitz’s seventh World Cup medal, all in the Giant Slalom, and his first win. It’s his second year in a row with medal at Beaver Creek; he won bronze in the G-S last year. Summaries:
FIS Alpine World Cup
Beaver Creek, Colorado (USA) ~ 30 November-2 December 2018
(Full results here)
Men’s Downhill: 1. Beat Feuz (SUI), 1:13.59; 2. Mauro Caviezel (SUI), 1:13.66; 3. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR), 1:13.67; 4. Adrien Theaux (FRA), 1:13.80; 5. Johan Clarey (FRA), 1:13.85. Also in the top 25: 9. tie, Steven Nyman (USA) and Bryce Bennett (USA), 1:14.15.
Men’s Super-G: 1. Max Franz (AUT), 1:01.91; 2. Caviezel (SUI), 1:02.24; 3. tie, Svindal (NOR), Dominik Paris (ITA) and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), 1:02.32. Also in the top 25: 15. Travis Ganong (USA), 1:02.69; … 17. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA), 1:02.83; … 20. Nyman (USA), 1:03.10; … 22. Ted Ligety (USA), 1:03.19.
Men’s Giant Slalom: 1. Stefan Luitz (GER), 2:36.38; 2. Marcel Hirscher (AUT), 2:36.52; 3. Thomas Tumler (SUI), 2:36.89; 4. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), 2:37.05; 5. Loic Meillard (SUI), 2:376.22. Also in the top 25: 8. Ligety (USA), 2:37.48; … 15. Tommy Ford (USA), 2:38.07; … 18. Brian McLaughlin (USA), 2:38.38; … 22. Cochran-Siegle (USA), 2:38.59.
