U.S. Ski Team: Top Moments of 2015
As 2015 comes to a close, U.S. Ski Team alpine press officer Megan Harrod takes some time to reflect on the year from one of the U.S. Ski Team’s headquarters, in the sleepy little mountain village of Patsch, Austria with the top 10 moments of the 2015/2016 season so far.
Bryce Bennett reacts after seeing his sixth-place time on the scoreboard at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's downhill on December 19, 2015 in Val Gardena, Italy. (Getty/Agence Zoom-Francis Bompard)
Bryce Bennett’s Saslong surprise sixth place
Back in October Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, CA) blew us away with his unconventional perspective in our What Makes a Champion piece. He blew us away again when he skyrocketed from bib 57 to a surprise SIXTH in the classsic Val Gardena downhill on the Saslong. No one expected it. Not even the big man himself. As Bennett skied down, teammates Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY), Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA), and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) commented on his fast split times. Beautiful skiing. Smooth the whole way down. Aerodynamic. Composed. Pretty impressive for a guy with a 6’7” frame. That moment when Bryce came through the finish line and looked at the timer in utter disbelief will go down in U.S. ski racing history as one of the most authentic finish area reactions. Believe it, buddy. It’s true: welcome to the top 30 in the world!
Lindsey Vonn is all smiles after winning the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's super G on December 06, 2015 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. (Getty/Agency Zoon-Alain Grosclaude)
Lindsey Vonn’s hat trick at “Lake Lindsey”
After crashing and fracturing her ankle at the New Zealand training camp this summer and sitting on the sidelines for over two months, Vonn (Vail, CO) battled back with yet another impressive comeback and took not one, not two but THREE wins in a row at Lake Louise in November. That brings her Lake Louise win tally to 18, and after her surprise giant slalom win at Are, her career win tally is now at 71. Can’t wait for #LV72 in 2016!
Ted Ligety, Marcel Hirscher of Austria, and Andrew Weibrecht spray champagne on the podium after the Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G race on the Birds of Prey on December 5, 2015 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (Getty Images-Ezra Shaw)
Five guys in the top 30 at Birds of Prey super G
December 5, 2015: it was a historical day at Beaver Creek for the Americans, with four in the top 11 and five in the top 30. Before December 5, only one American, Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) had podiumed in Super G at Birds of Prey. That was in 2004, and he snagged second. But on this day with a shortened Super G course due to weather that was oddly similar to the 2007 downhill where Andrew "Warhorse" Weibrecht jumped from 53 to 10, Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) took second place and Weibrecht grabbed his first World Cup podium with a third place finish. Add to that a consistent Ganong, finishing sixth, Tommy Biesemeyer’s (Keene, NY) astounding 11th place comeback finish, and Tommy Ford’s (Bend, OR) 28th place, and—VOILA!—history made. Much more to come from the men’s speed team this season. Watch closely.
Bode Miller stands in the finish with his son after forerunning the Birds of Prey downhill.
Bode Miller POV foreruns and announces for NBC at Birds of Prey
The circuit just isn’t the same without the man, the myth, the legend—Bode Miller. Though he’s taking the season off to focus on family and his interests in horse racing, Miller made his broadcasting debut with NBC at Birds of Prey, alongside Dan Hicks. But that wasn’t all. Fans also got the chance to see that Bode style as he sported his new Bomber skis and was the POV forerunner, working with Eurosport on a rad 360 degree video down the Birds of Prey track. In the finish, he was greeted by son Nate, with a hug and smiles. Have to say, it was nice to see Miller back at Birds of Prey. Hope it’s not the last time.
Resi Stiegler is stoked after finishing 10th in the slalom during the Audi FIS Women's Alpine Ski World Cup at the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational on November 29, 2015 in Aspen, Colorado. (Getty Images-Doug Pensinger)
Resi Stiegler fights back to the top 15 in the world
Resi Stiegler loves skiing with a passion. After sustaining a torn ACL and meniscus prior to World Championships in Flachau last season, 14-year U.S. Ski Team veteran Resi Stiegler (Jackson, WY) was determined to come back stronger and faster than ever. She’s a free spirit. She’s fierce. She’s a warrior who has battled her way into the top 15 in the world, now ranked number 15. In her father’s hometown of Lienz, Resi was invited to her first bib draw in eight years. Next Up: top 10. Watch out, world.
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates her win on the podium along with Frida Hansdotter (left) of Sweden in second place and Sarka Strachova of Czech Republic in third place in slalom at the Audi FIS Women's Alpine Ski World Cup at the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational on November 29, 2015 in Aspen, Colorado. (Getty Images-Doug Pensinger)
Mikaela Shiffrin becomes first American woman to win in Aspen since 1981
…and she does it by the largest margin recorded in the history of alpine ski racing for women in slalom–3.07 seconds. Unbelievable. Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) would go on to win her second slalom in two days the following day by yet another impressive margin. In her speed debut at Lake Louise the following week, she finished 15th. Wowza. Watch out for this one. Though Shiffrin is currently out with an MCL tear and bone bruise she sustained while in re, she is not forgotten and will be a formidable force upon her return to the circuit.
David Chodounsky competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom on December 15, 2013 in Val d'Isere, France. (Getty/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)
David Chodounsky scores a career best 4th place at Val d’Isere
Former Big Green (Dartmouth) NCAA athlete David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) is having the best season of his career, currently ranked in third in the slalom standings. It was at Val d’Isere that he really wowed the ski racing community. He likes Val d’Isere’s technical track. Suits him well. In fact, in 2013 he finished seventh at Val d’Isere – his previous best World Cup finish. That was until December 13, 2015, when he crushed his previous best and grabbed a fourth place finish despite being hit in the face with a gate during the first run and getting stitches prior to second run. What a dude!
Tommy Ford arc'ing it during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom on December 20, 2015 in Alta Badia, Italy. (Getty/Agence Zoom - Alexis Boichard)
Tommy Ford wins second run by .80 at Alta Badia
Ford, my friends, is one of the most beautiful skiers on the circuit. But when he arcs a clean turn, it’s not only beautiful—it’s inspiring. So it comes as no surprise that Ford makes the list with his smokin’ fast second run at Alta Badia just a couple of weeks ago. With a DQ in the top 30 and Ford sitting in 31st, it was by chance that he even made the flip—but he capitalized on that starting position and skied the most fluid, smooth, beautiful run Head Coach Sasha Rearick has ever seen Ford ski. He made the leaderboard his home until teammate Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV) came down to take the leaderboard reigns, and then teammate Ligety came down to share the leaderboard with Jit. It was an All-American home base for quite a while. In the end, Ford ended up 12th…but he won the run by .8, giving Marcel Hirscher something to pay attention to for the future.
U.S. Ski Team names fallen teammates to C team Posthumously in Copper
The naming of the 2015-16 U.S. Alpine Ski Team during Nature Valley First Tracks at Copper Mountain was a time of celebration, with 58 athletes having their names read and proudly marching on stage. Some of the biggest applause, however, came for two athletes who were not there to make that walk onto the stage—Ronnie Berlack (Franconia, NH) and Bryce Astle (Sandy, UT). The two promising young stars were killed in an avalanche one year ago, on January 5, 2015.
Athletes, coaches and families all agreed—they should be honored for their athletic achievements with a place on the team. It was a special weekend. Ronnie’s ashes were spread on the dyeline of Copper’s speed center and friends, family and teammates had a chance to share some of their favorite stories about the boys. In an effort to help athletes better understand the risks of the mountains and prevent similar accidents, avalanche awareness education was integrated into the weekend. To learn more, we recommend checking out the American Institute for Avalance Research and Education (AIARE)—an amazing program that is trying to standardize avalanche education.
Mikaela Shiffrin smiles with Annika Hager.
Mikaela Shiffrin Inspired by Young Fan with Cancer at Soelden
Not many people know this story, but it’s a heartwarming one that speaks to Shiffrin’s character. Twelve-year-old Annika Hager, a fan of ski racing and a former great ski racer herself, got the chance to meet Shiffrin in the finish area at Soelden. Annika had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Though a challenge to find the right words for the situation, Shiffrin always seems to do so eloquently and beautifully, encouraging Annika to keep fighting. Annika had the biggest smile on her face. In late November, though, Annika passed away. She was an incredible girl who told her parents to stop being sad and to let her go. Her wish was for all of her family and friends to show up in colored clothes to her funeral, with 200 gas balloons.
Though Shiffrin had just podiumed in her first World Cup race of the season, in the end, Shiffrin was the one to walk away inspired by a little girl with a big spirit.
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It’s already been a season for the record books, and there is much, much more to come. The season is young. Not only have we enjoyed our time on the podium and in the top 10 this season, we’ve equally enjoyed white elephant gift giving get-togethers with our White Circus family, countless games of wiffleball, soccer and flag football while on the road, hikes in the unusually warm and vibrantly green European valleys, laughs along with colorful dinner conversation, moments of inspiration—like that of Italian Christof Innerhofer as he carried a gate with him for more than half of his run down the dark, bumpy, gnarly Santa Caterina track, and much much more.
We hope the new year brings some of that fluffy white stuff they’ve been amassing in the western United States over to Euroland and lots of powder days and faceshots your way, wherever you may be. With live streaming on NBC Sports Network and coverage on Universal HD, updates on usskiteam.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now Snapchat (behind-the-scenes from the road - usskiteam!) make sure to follow along and tune in. Thank you for your support, and remember – MORE COWBELL! The entire team is ready for 2016. Bring it on!
Total season results count to date: 12 World Cup podiums – Vonn (four victories, one second place), Shiffrin (two victories, one second place), Ligety (one victory, one second place), Ganong (one third place), and Weibrecht (one third place).
Current overall standing highlights: Vonn currently sits in second in the overall with 500 points, behind Switzerland’s Lara Gut (658), is tied for first in downhill standings with Switzerland’s Fabienne Suter at 200 points, and is first in the super G standings. Though Shiffrin is injured, she is currently sitting in third in slalom with 200 points, behind Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter (320) and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova (220). Former NCAA standout (Dartmouth) athlete David Chodounsky sits in third in the slalom standings with 79 points behind Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen (200) and Austria’s Marcel Hirscher (160).
A look back: Top 15 Moments of the 2014/2015 season
Megan travels with the men and women’s alpine teams throughout the season. If you’d like to be added to her daily World Cup notes distribution list (she sends a preview email every race day morning), please send her an email at mharrod@ussa.org.
