Another Croatian Sensation
Ivica Kostelic takes January and runs with it BY HANK MCKEE PHOTOS BY GEPA
Ivica Kostelic has dominated the month, and the season.
January represents more than a third of the men’s
World Cup schedule, but it is so much more telling
than the numbers. January is, always, the key to the
season, wrapped up in two classic packages called
Lauberhorn and Hahnenkamm, tied with a ribbon
named Adelboden, and topped with a bow known as
Schladming. Taken as a whole they are the present
of ski racing past and future, the pivotal psyche of the
winter.
This season, Ivica Kostelic made January his own.
Through the races at Adelboden (see last issue),
the World Cup lead had changed 10 times in 13
races. After Wengen’s Lauberhorn, Kitzbuehel’s
Hahnenkamm and the night slalom at Schladming,
Kostelic had amassed a 432-point lead over the field,
showing a previously unknown prowess in speed
events and the steady, smart skiing he has long been
known for.
“He’s been one of my favorite skiers for years and
I’ve skied against him for 10 years or so, more,” said
Bode Miller. “He skis very consistently top to bottom.
No mistakes ever. He really is conservative with his
tactics a lot of the time, but he makes unbelievably
accurate decisions and then executes those decisions
perfectly. ... [He makes] no errors at all, not even small
hiccups. He’s never really had a chance because of
his injuries.”
