Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led a reemerging U.S. Ski Team men’s tech squad, finishing eighth, at the Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom as four American’s scored World Cup points Sunday.

“It was awesome,” said Ligety, a five-time giant slalom winner at Beaver Creek, about having four American’s in the second run. “I’m really close with this group of guys and it’s been fun incorporating Brian (McLaughlin) into our group and awesome to see him actually stepping it up on race day. He’s been skiing fast all summer in training … and I’m really excited to have another guy in there.”

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) was 15th as McLaughlin (Waitsfield, Vt.), who made his World Cup debut at Birds of Prey last season, finished 18th to score his first World Cup points. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) continued his impressive skiing, finishing 22nd and scoring World Cup points in his third discipline so far this season.

“They have been awesome to me,” said McLaughlin of his recent training with the U.S. Ski Team, a Green Mountain Valley School graduate who is skiing independently this season after spending a few years on the U.S. Ski Team Development squad, then the National University Team, and Dartmouth, where he was NCAA giant slalom champion in 2018. Along with the NCAA giant slalom title, he also grabbed the NorAm giant slalom title with guaranteed World Cup starts for the 2018-19 season. “They have been treating me as part of the team and it’s worked out really well so far.”

Returning from a knee injury last season, Germany’s Stefan Luitz pulled a surprising upset victory over Austrian ace Marcel Hirscher for his first career World Cup giant slalom victory. Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler also picked up his first career World Cup podium, finishing third.

First-year U.S. Ski Team member and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alumnus Kyle Negomir made his World Cup debut on familiar grounds as part of the seven-member U.S. Team to start in Sunday's race.

“It’s pretty sweet being able to do your first World Cup in your backyard, so I was pretty pumped on it,” said Negomir. “I grew up working this race; I was setting B-net and slipping. And I foreran the GS here last year. It’s cool. It’s tough running in the back, but there is not as much pressure because you just go out and ski as hard as you can because you have got nothing to lose.”

Up next, the men’s World Cup circuit moves back to Europe with giant slalom and slalom races in Val d’Isere, France. Both events will be broadcast and stream live on the networks of NBC, including the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - the NBC Sports Network, and the NBC Sports Gold app.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)

Saturday, Dec. 9
12:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network**
3:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)
5:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network*

Fans can catch all the action in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports online at NBCSports.com/Live or through the NBC Sports app which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. 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 (Avon, Colo.) has proven once again that she is the best athlete in the world with a historic FIS Ski World Cup super-G victory in Lake Louise, Alberta, Sunday as she became the first ski racer ever to win in all six World Cup disciplines - slalom, parallel slalom, combined, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill.

“It was one of my big goals to win in every discipline when I first started racing…one of those goals that you don’t think you’re ever going to achieve, and it’s incredible,” Shiffrin said. “This season I’m still going to race just some super-Gs, but here in Lake Louise, I have a really good feeling. I have to be in the right mindset, so I plan to ski the super-G in St. Moritz (Switzerland), but then it’s up in the air.”

With her 46th career World Cup victory - and her first super-G World Cup win - she moved into a fourth-place tie with Austria’s Renate Götschl on the all-time women’s World Cup win list. Only teammate Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) with 82 victories, Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62, and Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider with 55 are ahead of her on the all-time victory list.

Sunday’s victory came in only her ninth career World Cup super-G start, and after trailing early leader Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany at the first interval by a slim 0.20 seconds, she turned on the aggressive afterburners, taking the "bad girl line."

“This morning when I woke up I thought ‘Well, let’s see what I can do!’” Shiffrin said. “I just skied very aggressively, I wanted to be aggressive. I wanted to find speed. And whatever line I was going to take, I was going to use it to find speed. It felt amazing. My set-up was absolutely perfect. Thank you to my team, my serviceman, and my sponsors. Amazing.”

Rebensburg eventually settled for third after Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinkel, who started 19th, crossed the line in second at 0.77 seconds off the pace set by Shiffrin.

With three top 10 results in the past three days, including eighth in Friday’s downhill and fourth in Saturday’s downhill, Shiffrin increased her overall World Cup lead to 238 points over Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, who currently sits in second, and Austria's Nicole Schmidhofer in third.

Up next, the women’s tour moves back to Europe next weekend (Dec. 8-9) with super-G and parallel slalom events in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Both events will be broadcast and stream live on the networks of NBC, including the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - the NBC Sports Network, and the NBC Sports Gold app.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G
World Cup overall standings

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)

Saturday, Dec. 9
12:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network**
3:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)
5:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network*
 

The time has come, the superpipe is taking shape, and Copper Mountain is welcoming freeski and snowboard halfpipe superstars from across the globe to compete at the 2018 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Dec. 5-8. This year the event holds special significance as it marks over a decade of partnership between Copper Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Not to mention, early Colorado snow will make for excellent training and competition conditions.

“I am really excited for this season of events to start up,” said U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.). “Heading to Copper Mountain is the perfect way to kick it off. Mainly, I’m just excited to link up with all of my teammates to ride and have a good time.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is showing up with a stacked roster of Olympic medalists, FIS World Cup Champions and rising stars ready to put their skills to the test. The U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Team is arriving with a serious collection of accolades and experience. Double Olympic gold medalist David Wise (Reno, Nev.) will be leading the charge alongside Olympic silver medalist Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) and two-time Olympian and 2017 FIS World Champion Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.). For the women, the star-studded cast of Olympic medalists includes Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), and Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.). Also, PyeongChang Olympian Annalisa Drew (Andover, Mass.) will be looking to put down one of the more technical runs in women’s halfpipe freeskiing.

“Definitely excited to kick off the season and get back in the pipe,” said Sigourney. “It’s been a relaxing post-Olympic break and I’m mostly looking forward to focusing on having fun this year. My goal for Copper is to pick up where I left off last year, I would be really happy with that.”

PyeongChang Olympic gold medalist and 2017 FIS World Cup Champion Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) will be looking to defend her Grand Prix title from 2016 and 2017. Look for Kim and Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) as they take their new tricks to the competition scene. Both come into Copper Mountain as the only two women who have landed frontside double corks on snow. However, you can not count out Colorado local and Olympic bronze medalist Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). After battling a shoulder injury in PyeongChang, she is healthy coming into the 2018-19 season. The women of the U.S. Snowboard Team will be looking to defend their podium sweep from 2017.

“I have had the privilege to work with our snowboard halfpipe riders for 12 seasons now,” said U.S. Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Rick Bower. “I can say that I have worked with some of the most talented snowboarders of all time and this current crew of riders are as motivated, hungry and skilled as anyone. Our riders are doing truly groundbreaking skills acquired at the Saas Fee camp and I think this season is shaping up to see some tricks that have never been done before in competition.”

Also, PyeongChang Olympians Pates, Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) as well as new U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Toby Miller (Mammoth, Calif.) will be looking to set the tone for the season at the inaugural FIS World Cup halfpipe competition.

“We are all very excited for our first competition,” said U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Andrew Woods. “With all the early season snow Copper has received, conditions will be excellent and will make for a great contest. Each year, Copper gives athletes the first opportunity to show off their hard work over the summer. For the first time, they will be taking skills they learned at training camps into full competition runs. Doing well here can really boost the confidence and help to set the tone for the remainder of the year.”

The freeskiers will kick things off on Dec. 5 and snowboarders on Dec. 6 with the qualification rounds. Finals will take place on Dec. 7 for the freeskiers and Dec. 8 for the snowboarders. Whether you plan to head out to Copper Mountain, Colo. and experience the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix up close and personal or are tuning in to the networks of NBC, you are guaranteed a spectacular show. Stay tuned for more coverage as competition unfolds this week.

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
*All times EST

FREESKI
December 7, 2018
1:00 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC Sports & NBC Sports Gold

December 8
4:30 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC - Next-day broadcast

SNOWBOARD
December 8, 2018
1:00 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC Sports & NBC Sports Gold

December 9
12:30 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC - Next-day broadcast

EVENT SCHEDULE
*subject to change

Dec. 5:  8:30 a.m - 3:30 p.m (MST) - Freeski Qualifications
Dec. 6: 8:30 a.m - 3:30 p.m (MST) - Snowboard Qualifications
Dec. 7: 11:00 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. (MST) - Freeski Finals
Dec. 8: 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. (MST) - Snowboard Finals
 

Erik Bjornson (Winthrop, Wash.) had an outstanding race on the final day of the Lillehammer Triple, finishing third for the day in the 15k classic pursuit. Bjornsen finished the weekend in 32nd place for the mini-tour leading the U.S. men. Norway swept the men's mini-tour podium with Didrik Toenseth taking the win followed by Sjur Roethe in second and Emil Iversen in third.

“I'm really excited about the time of day result and hope that I can continue to build through the season,” said Erik Bjornsen. “The goal is to consistently be skiing in the points. The margins are so small that I know if I can ski top 30 every day, then the top 10 finishes start appearing.  I love the pursuit start classic races because there are always a bunch of skate specialists to pick off throughout the race. Nothing feels better than passing a guy with a super low number.”

Erik Bjornsen was clearly dissatisfied with his performance in Saturday’s skate race and came out charging Sunday. He and Jean-Marc Gaillard from France were able to work together to move up the standings significantly, and Jean-Marc went on to have the second fastest time of the day, one second ahead of Erik Bjornsen.

On the women’s side, Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) finished 10th overall in the three-day Lillehammer Triple on a very challenging wax day with a wintry mix of precipitation in the final stage 10k pursuit. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) closely followed in 13th with Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) finishing the weekend 15th overall.

“Today was particularly tough because I was kind of in "no man’s land" in the pursuit start,” Sadie Bjornsen said. “I was really struggling with not enough kick on my skis, so I had to really use some mental toughness to make it up the endless hills of the Lillehammer course. Early season races are good races to deal with this sort of stuff, because not only do you learn from ski waxing mistakes, but you also can take advantage of making your brain fight extra hard and get in good form along with your muscles.”

Norway’s Therese Johaug took the victory – her 55th World Cup win – with Ebba Andersson of Sweden second and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in third. It was a standout tour for Brennan who will move to the Beitostølen, Norway, World Cup Dec. 8-9 with a lot of confidence in her skating.

“The service team made some great skis although we had a couple women that were on the slick side, including Sadie,” U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover said. “Jessie skied with better energy today and was able to move up a spot and finish the race explosively. Now that she is healthier the next two weeks of racing should be steps forward for her.”

“I got to ski the race with Rosie, the birthday girl, today”, said Olympic gold medalist Diggins. “It was super awesome to be skiing with a teammate and it helped keep me in the game. I felt better than yesterday’s race, so I was happy with the progress my body is making, and now I’m looking forward to next week to make sure my body is rested and recovered…because we have relays coming up”

The FIS Cross Country World Cup season continues next weekend, Dec. 8-9 in Beitostølen, Norway, with a 15k freestyle for the women, 30k freestyle for the men Saturday, and a men and women’s team relay Sunday.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit
Women’s overall Lillehammer Triple standings
Men’s overall Lillehammer Triple standings

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:20 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:05 a.m. - Men’s 30k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 9
4:20 a.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:20 a.m. - Men’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel*

Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led five of his teammates into the top 30, finishing 15th, in Saturday’s Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup super-G. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was 17th; Steven Nyman (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 20th; Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) was 22nd; and Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y) was 26th.

“Today I was ready to push a little harder, turn my brain off and just enjoyed it,” said Ganong, who missed the 2018 Olympic Winter Games after suffering an ACL injury in Bormio, Italy, last season. “I’m getting to that point now where I’ve had a couple races under my belt and I’m starting to find that fire again, and just relax and enjoy it.”

Max Franz of Austria took the victory ahead of Switzerland’s Mauro Caviezel in second and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal in third. For the second-straight day, weather forced race organizers to postpone the start time and to lower the start, which provided a short, fast course which saw five racers who started outside the top 30 finish in the top 15. However, the most impressive performance of the day belonged to Nyman, who started with bib 64 and finished 20th.

“This course crew did a pretty phenomenal job for the conditions and the weather that came in,” Cochran-Siegle said of the Talon Crew, who pulled an all-nighter clearing more than a foot of snow off the course.

Up next, the men’s will race giant slalom Sunday at Beaver Creek. The first run will be broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and stream on NBC Sports Gold. The second run will broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold.
 

Shiffrin Further Extends World Cup Lead

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) further extended her overall World Cup lead after finishing fourth in Saturday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta.

"I'm pretty psyched with today," Shiffrin said after her run. "Yesterday I felt a little bit disconnected and not really attacking as much as I'd like, but today I think it was a really big step in the right direction and I felt good on my skis, and felt like I made some really good turns so I'm psyched with that."

Shiffrin led through the first three intervals but lost a bit of time on the lower section of the course to just miss the podium in only her eighth career downhill. With her fourth-place finish though, she extended her overall World Cup lead to 156 points over Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer, who won for the second straight day at Lake Louise. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter was second, followed by Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, who posted her second-straight podium, finishing third Saturday.

Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) scored World Cup points for the second straight day, finishing 24th.

Now, Shiffrin will have to switch gears to super-G. "I'm going to try to go back and watch a little video from this summer when I was training super-G and switch gears and bring back my focus points from those training camps and see if I can bring that into tomorrow and attack a bit," Shiffrin said. "I haven't had any super-G training for a while, so it's kind of, like, winging it a little bit."

Up next, the women race super-G at Lake Louise, and will be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel and streamed on NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 1
6:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
10:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 1, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
 

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wa.) led the U.S. Cross Country Team, finishing ninth at Saturday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup 10k freestyle in Lillehammer, Norway, as Rosie Brennan (Park City, Ut.) posted a career-best World Cup result in 11th. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) was 12th.

“I am thrilled with my result and am looking forward to being in the mix tomorrow,”  Brennan said. “I had the confidence that I could have a good race after a really good summer of training and lots of improvements in my skating in particular.”

It was another day of solid results for the U.S. Cross Country Team in the second of the three-race mini tour competed on dirty snow due to the warm and wet weather. Therese Johaug of Norway won, followed by Sweden’s Edda Andersson second and Charlotte Kalla completing the podium in third.

“After climbing up the big long climb at 3.5k, I finally found my rhythm and my craving for the pain cave,” said Bjornsen, who posted her second-consecutive top 10-result after finishing third in Friday’s sprint. “From there I kept pushing myself and tried to cut some time off the leaders.  I was happy with my ninth place finish today. I think I have more in me, so I look forward to another try at distance skating next weekend. I think today was actually a step up from my distance race in Beito before the World Cup season started, so that is a step in the right direction.”

The Lillehammer Triple, as this mini-tour is referred to, concludes tomorrow with women’s 10k classic pursuit and a men’s 15k classic pursuit, both of which will be streamed live on NBC Sports Gold and the Olympic Channel.

“My body is in a weird place coming right off being sick, so although I know I’m still very much working towards my top form it was encouraging to be able to get out there and race today,” Diggins said. “I’m so proud of Rosie for her career best World Cup result, and excited to dig deep one last time in Lillehammer tomorrow!" from Jessie

In the men’s 15k Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) led the U.S. squad in 43rd. Norway’s Sjur Roethe won the race with teammate Didrik Toenseth second and Russia’s Denis Spitsov closing out the podium in third.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Sunday, Dec. 2
4:15 a.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
5:45 a.m. - World Cup Men’s 15k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - Olympic Channel*
9:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBCSN*

In just her seventh career FIS Ski World Cup downhill start, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) finished ninth to lead three Americans scoring World Cup points in Friday’s downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta. Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) was 26th, and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) picked up her first career World Cup top-30 downhill result in 27th.

Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer won her first career World Cup race as Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin was second. Germany’s Kira Weidle posted her first career World Cup podium, finishing third.

"My overall feeling was pretty good today," Shiffrin reflected. "I was really feeling aggressive and prepared, but one thing I still have to work on is being able to still stay smooth and aggressive with flat light and bumps. For sure I felt the bumps quite aggressively today. Watching some of the other girls - especially the podium finishers - and see how they're able to ski through the bumps and still be smooth and supple and aggressive even though they couldn't see...that's a tricky thing I still have to learn."

A true and diligent student of the sport, you can bet Shiffrin will learn from Friday's race and implement her learnings in Saturday's downhill, as she fights for the podium.

"Today was actually a really good lesson and stepping stone towards that. It's probably going to be really similar conditions tomorrow and having the ability to trust that the surface is there, it's just going to be really rattly - and staying in a good position and fighting to stay forward and fighting to keep moving and fighting to be smooth is probably the biggest change that I'm going to shoot to make."

For two downhill sessions and three training runs since May, it was a solid result for Shiffrin, who increased her overall World Cup lead to 143 points over Slovenia’s Petra Vlhova, who is not competing in this weekend’s speed events at Lake Louise. Italy’s Federica Brignone, winner of last week’s World Cup giant slalom at Killington, Vt., finished 25th in Friday’s downhill and currently sits third in the overall World Cup standings, 153 points behind Shiffrin.

Up next, the women have another downhill Saturday, and a super-G Sunday. Both races will be streamed and broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 1
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
2:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
10:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 1, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*

Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) stepped up his game, and Steven Nyman (Park City, Utah) proved he is back from a knee injury as the "Twin Towers" tied for ninth in the Xfinity Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup downhill Friday in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Switzerland’s Beat Fuez and Mauro Caviezel took the top two steps on the podium, with Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal in third.

“I grew up watching these guys on TV,” Bennett said of Fuez and Svindal, “and here I am. I’m in the mix with them, which is … weird, a little uncomfortable. But I think with a little bit more time, it will become more comfortable.”

It’s was Bennet’s third-career World Cup top 10 downhill result, and it came from a weather-shortened start on the traditional Birds of Prey course, which tossed racers right into the Brink - the first steep pitch on course. “It was definitely like zero to 100mph real fast,” Bennett said. “I was really hoping to go from the top, but with all the snow it was tough for the Talon Crew (course volunteers). They did a good job and the course is in really good shape, so hats off to them.”

Nyman, who was injured before the 2018 Olympics, started bib 26 and faced a track slowed by a couple race holds and light snowfall. However, the veteran “American Downhiller” had a secret weapon.

“I said last night in the press conference that I was breaking out some rocket ships, so those helped with the position I guess,” Nyman said. “I’m pretty psyched with what I did. Technique-wise, I skied well, I thought I was disciplined, I nailed the points I wanted to nail, and I did what I needed to do.”

Sharing a top 10 result with Bennett was a pleasant surprise for Nyman, who posted his 20th career top 10 World Cup downhill result. “It’s so awesome that we tied. It’s so cool,” Nyman said. “Twin Towers! He’s my little protegé, but he’s not so little.”

Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif), also suffered a knee injury prior to the 2018 Olympics and finished 28th in his return to World Cup racing. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was well on his way to another top-30 World Cup finish, but a mistake heading in the Red Tail jump near the finish cost him time and he finished 32nd.

Up next, the men are scheduled to race super-G Saturday on the Birds of Prey course. However, the weather forecast is calling for up to nine inches of snow. Regardless, Bennett already has his sights set on the next World Cup downhill Dec. 15 in Val Gardena, Italy, where he has posted his other two top-10 career World Cup results.

“Looking towards Val Gardena, which is a hill I can do very well at, I think my equipment is in a good place … where I can be competitive,” he said. “I’m getting a little closer, a little closer … it’s just a couple turns that you gotta clean up, and you’re right there.”

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
*Same-day delayed broadcast

ALPINE
Friday, Nov. 30
5:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*

Saturday, Dec. 1
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
2:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
10:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 1, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) recently announced that the 2018-19 season would be her last, but following a training injury earlier this month and missing out on this weekend’s FIS Ski World Cup races at her favorite venue - Lake Louise, Alberta - she left the door open to returning to “Lake Lindsey” next season in her new "Off the Record" YouTube series post on Friday.

Sadie Bjornson (Winthrop, Wash.) earned the first World Cup podium of the 2018-19 season for the U.S. Cross Country Team this season in Lillehammer, Norway, on Friday.  Bjornsen, qualified sixth, battled through the quarterfinal and semifinal heats to finish third behind Sweden’s Jonna Sundling and Stina Nilsson, who finished first and second respectively in the opening World Cup freestyle sprint.

“Today was such an exciting day because I have had my eyes on a skate sprint podium for a long time”, said Bjornsen. “I have now accomplished a podium in all the disciplines - skate sprint, classic sprint, classic distance, and skate distance, which is a huge accomplishment for me. Also, with so many skate sprints this season, I am so excited to get some confidence and belief to fight for the top in the long season to come.”

Bjornsen’s podium in the first of the three-race Lillehammer mini tour positions her well for the remaining two races - Saturday’s 10k freestyle mass start and Sunday’s 10k classic pursuit - both of which will be streamed live on NBC Sports Gold and the Olympic Channel. Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) qualified ninth and Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) qualified 12th, but neither advanced from the round of 30. Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) was unable to start due to a cold.

“We are very excited for Sadie,” stated U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover. “She stayed out of trouble all day and made opportunistic moves passing other racers whenever she had an opening. The key to this race was what kind of position one could create on the final downhill to the stadium and carrying momentum around the last turn into the finish lanes. Sadie put herself in great finish position all day and skied the final downhill aggressively and with poise. It’s going to be a big season for her. Congratulations to coach Erik Flora and the APU program!”

“I am so happy with my qualifier today,” said Brennan, who skied to a career-best World Cup sprint qualification. “I finally was able to find a good balance of speed and power to make things happen and that felt good!  With expanded start quotas for all teams in a mini-tour and the nation's group, this is probably the most competitive World Cup of the year so to also get my best qualifying place is a huge accomplishment for me. I still have very little experience in the heats and am looking to make some improvements in group skiing, but it was a great start in sprinting and I am really looking forward to the rest of the tour.

On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) was the lone qualifier in 22nd place, finishing fourth in the quarterfinal round. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino won the race with Norway’s Emil Iversen second and Canadian Alex Harvey closing out the podium in third.

RESULTS
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 1
4:30 a.m. - World Cup women’s 10k, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
6:15 a.m. - World Cup Men’s 15k, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
12:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k, Lillehammer, NOR - Olympic Channel*
9:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k, Lillehammer, NOR - NBCSN*

Sunday, Dec. 2
4:15 a.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
5:45 a.m. - World Cup Men’s 15k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - Olympic Channel*
9:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBCSN*