Hometown hero River Radamus is no longer just a nice Birds of Prey storyline — he’s a consistent top-10 World Cup threat

Writers salivated when River Radamus made his World Cup debut on the Birds of Prey track in the 2017 giant slalom.

After all, it’s pretty easy to file a nice story about a young local racing on his home hill. Who cares if the kid finishes outside of the top-50 (which happened every year until 2022, when he came from bib 57 to place 16th) — one can always lob the cliche question:

“So, what’s it like racing in your backyard?”

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But the days of tired ledes and clever headlines have come and gone. After Saturday’s eighth-place finish in the super-G, it’s safe to say the Edwards skier has matured into a bonafide top-10 contender. Of course, if you ask Radamus, the sensation of skiing in front of a uniquely partisan audience hasn’t evolved much over the years.

“I think every time I’m in the starting gate, you’re not a ski racer if you don’t believe you have a chance to win it,” he said. “Especially when I’m here, on home soil and I know there’s so many people out there cheering for me — I want to live up to that potential, I want to put everything on the line and see what’s possible.”

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On a day when the 607-meter slope didn’t play nicely — five of the first seven athletes posted DNFs — Radamus did what he always does: gunned it from the get-go. He sat in sixth through the second and third intervals before sliding into his career-best super-G finish and ninth-career World Cup top 10. Not bad for a guy who’s had limited speed training while racing the slalom circuit throughout period 1.

“I was a little bit uncertain coming into this series, not sure where the skiing’s at and I think that makes me try to push a little harder — see what I can do,” Radamus said before adding, “My slalom’s helping my GS, (which is) helping my super-G. So I’m just enjoying the ride.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who came in 11th, praised his young teammate, but also figured Radamus maybe wasn’t totally satisfied.

“Obviously really solid skiing. It was nice that he got to put one down top to bottom here,” Cochran-Siegle said. “I know he probably even wants more and I think it’s his time for that to come. We fully believe in him.”

The first stage of Radamus’ breakthrough came last February when he placed third at Palisades Tahoe.

“That was something I’d spent a really long time searching for and working towards and also something that until it happens, you never know if it’s going to happen,” Radamus said of his first-career podium. “So, stepping on the pine and understanding I can make it to that level just gives me more confidence going into every race. It also sets the expectation that if I can do it, I should be pushing everything I can to get there.”

The progression is part and parcel with an authentic love for the sport, on and off the snow. Radamus runs the Arco Foundation to support up-and-coming U16 skiers who might get priced out of the sport. Bridger Gile — another Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alumni and GS specialist — said he admires Radamus’ “commitment to skiing.”

“He always wants to ski, no matter what,” Gile said during the U.S. Ski Team’s Copper Mountain camp in November. “Even if it’s not good, he wants to go out and go ski. His love for it is inspirational and easy to follow.”

Now that he’s tasted one, podiums are all Radamus craves.

“I’m hungry for more of that feeling,” he said. “And hopefully I can put up a few more podium-worthy performances this season.”

In addition to improving upon his 11th-place ranking in the GS standings from last season, Radamus is eying a third global championship team. He’s had a knack for showing up on the big stage, placing fourth in the Alpine Combined and winning the team parallel in Courchevel in 2023. He also placed fourth in the giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Cochran-Siegle said the strong U.S. group this year means making the Saalbach squad won’t be automatic, but whoever goes is going to be battle tested.

“It’s a competitive group. That’s a good thing,” he stated. “Obviously we’re all hoping to be there and we know that we have to be there is to ski fast and get some good results.”

When asked about what type of results would leave him satisfied at the end of the campaign, Radamus first recognized ski racing’s objectivity.

“It’s a pass or fail sport: Either you were fast enough or you weren’t,” he said before pivoting to a more philosophical component. “But I try not to think of the outcomes too much because so much of that is out of your control. I thought I had a pretty good run today, but there were seven guys that had better runs than me. I don’t see that as a failure for me, because I know all the work that I put in to prepare.”

After Friday’s race, Radamus jumped the media corral to sign autographs for a line of young, screaming fans — one of which might be the next local to compete at Birds of Prey. At this point, the homegrown hero isn’t about to place his identity in fame, fast times or wacky hairstyles. Instead, his standard for satisfactory skiing is rooted in what he does on all of the days he doesn’t put a bib on in front of the Beaver Creek faithful.

“The rest of the 364 days of the year, I’m doing everything I possibly can to get ready mentally, physically, emotionally,” he said. At some point, there’s a confidence that if he focuses on that, a win will eventually come.

“Whether it happens today, tomorrow or whenever, I know that my process is good,” he continued. “And I’ve got to be proud of that and treat the race as a celebration of all that work I’m putting in.”