“He did go on his hip about a third of the way into the second run and then got back up and contin- ued then made another mistake at the very bot- tom,” said U.S. coach Mike Day. “You know, it’s a bit of a bummer, but he showed again first run where his GS is right now. ... We’ll move on and get ready for slalom tomorrow.” Ligety was less diplomatic. “It really sucked,” he said. “But you can’t win them all.” Those who did win [Svindal and Richard] he said, had put down “ballsy” second runs. “This race is special,” said Svindal, referring to the festive atmosphere. “It is like the Kitzbuehel of giant slaloms.” As a veteran of the World Cup wars, he was look- ing ahead. He said he had contracted what he dubbed “Alpen Fever” and had been bedridden for two days (he did not race in Zagreb) trying to stave it off. Then he dragged himself out to race. Getting a piece of the win, he said, had him “feel- ing a lot better.” He consulted a doctor in Adelboden and was told to get more rest. With downhill training ahead of the Lauberhorn at Wengen next on the schedule, that advice was difficult to follow. “You have to stay healthy,” he theorized, “Be- cause Adelboden is just the start. After Wengen
it’s off to Austria for Kitzbuehel, the craziest downhill race of the year.”
For Richard, the first chance to bask in the limelight of victory (it was his first career win) was
overwhelming. He raised his arms in triumph as
soon as Ligety’s hip hit the ground.
“She is beautiful this victory,” he told French re-
porters. “I was disappointed to have made a mis-
take [in the first run]. But I knew that anything was
possible here.”
He said winning Adelboden was a childhood
dream. “I worked many times when I found myself
alone, but when I doubted, always the little flame
burned,” said Richard. “I was not mistaken. I am
proud.”
Slalom
The slalom, held Jan. 9, saw a veteran seize an
opportunity. Ivica Kostelic drew bib No. 1 and he
knew that gave him a better chance than anyone
to take control of the day. He also knew he would
need as big a first-run lead as he could muster.
He scorched it. “It was definitely a great ride,” he
said, indicating he had needed to “hang on” as
he let the skis run. With a first-run margin of more
than three-quarters of a second, Kostelic knew
his strategy had a better-than-average chance to
play out.
When Marcel Hirscher, the second-fastest man
of the first run, claimed the lead after his second
run, Kostelic knew he could pick where he would
try to generate speed and where he could afford
to play it safe. He executed marvelously, claiming
not only his 13th career win, but also taking away
the lead of the overall standings, the seventh man
to lead this season and the 12th lead change in
17 races.
With more slaloms on the immediate horizon,
Kostelic has hopes of ending this string of lead
changes. “Now that we have it in hand,” he said,
“we’ll try not to drop it.”
For the race, it was all Austria behind Kostelic as
the red tide swept the next three places: Hirscher,
Reinfried Herbst and Mario Matt, who seems to
have a new equipment sponsor each and every
season.
In fifth with a fabulous effort was Canadian Michael Janyk, the first of three Canadian Cowboys
to score. Brad Spence punched in 17th, his eighth
Some 30,000 fans
cheered on racers.
It may have been a bit
of sibling rivalry that
helped spur Michael
Janyk to fifth place.
