River Radamus and Kyle Negomir score World Cup points, enjoy time on sunny Tofane track in Cortina
Brian Pinelli/Special to the Daily
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — River Radamus and Kyle Negomir relished their opportunities to be part of a men’s World Cup field racing on the classic Olympia delle Tofane women’s course for the first time in 33 years.
Both scored in the points in super-G’s, contested on consecutive days. Radamus finished 27th out of the 59th start position and would have been considerably higher if not for a frustrating late mistake on Saturday. Negomir ended 28th from bib No. 46, overcoming a tricky course set that forced 21 DNF’s out of 59 racers, including Norwegian top gun Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, on Sunday.
Unflappable Swiss star Marco Odermatt was smooth and nearly flawless on a course that tossed numerous racers around, going two-for-two in Cortina. He increased his overall World Cup lead to a substantial 313-points over the nearest challenger Kilde, after 27 of 39 races.
Radamus, who has previously won two FIS races, in addition to second and third place results at the Italian Dolomites race venue, admitted that he let a perfect chance get away on Saturday. He finished 1.74 seconds off the pace of Odermatt’s winning run.
“It’s tough because I really felt good about how I was standing on the skis yesterday and skiing with a lot of confidence — the opportunities were there for huge results this weekend, given lots of mistakes from the tops guys on both days,” Radamus said, after Sunday’s super-G, in which he finished just out of the points in 32nd.
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“Yesterday, it behooved the later skiers because the sun came out and the course held up, so it was a golden opportunity. I was a little bit ragged, but everybody was, I just need to execute better.
“I feel like I could have had better results the way I skied this weekend. That being said, I’m happy with the confidence I’m skiing with.”
Radamus was 10th on the grueling Gran Risa course in Alta Badia in December, but is trying to regain the form that he knows he is capable of following a pair of disappointing 22nd and 21st place GS finishes, respectively, in Adelboden and Schladming, in January.
“It’s frustrating sometimes because the results aren’t coming, but I think I’m skiing better in every way than I did last year,” said the 24-year-old Ski & Snowboard Club Vail racer, who recently relocated to Taos, New Mexico. “I just have to stay the course and know that the results will come.”
Negomir, who scored World Cup super-G points for the third time in what is his full first full season on tour in Europe, finished 2.61 seconds behind Odermatt.
Brian Pinelli/Special to the Daily
“There were a lot of tricks and traps in the course set, so you had to be pretty careful and I was probably a bit too careful and wasn’t aggressive enough in between the tricks, but I executed the hard sections well,” Negomir said, after his race on a glorious Sunday afternoon in the Dolomites. “The snow is like Colorado snow and I think this super-G benefits good technical ski racing.”
Considering the 21 DNF’s and a host of crashes on the traditional women’s race hill, Sunday’s competition took nearly two hours. Many elite racers admitted that they were perplexed by the difficulty of the unfamiliar course.
“It definitely helps to run at the end — you can watch half the race run before you and you see everybody’s mistakes, so that definitely plays a little bit,” said the 24-year-old Colorado racer. “I was happy to make it down — yesterday I had some big mistakes and I tried to limit that today.”
The two super-G races at the future Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic venue for women were recently scheduled as replacement races for Lake Louise and St. Anton.
Aside from racing, Negomir relished the quintessential Italian Dolomites experience.
“I think everyone loves it here — the food, it’s sunny all day and just gorgeous everywhere you look. To come here where the vibe is more low key after coming from Kitzbuehel last week is a nice change,” Negomir said.
Brian Pinelli/Special to the Daily
World Championships in Courchevel fast approaching
Both 24-year-old Stifel U.S. Ski Team racers have their sights set on the upcoming FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Courchevel, France, February 7-19, although team start positions have yet to be determined.
Radamus has proven that he can prosper at major events, finishing fourth in the Beijing Olympic giant slalom last February and collecting three gold medals at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Norway, as an 18-year-old.
“If I can connect a run, I feel like I can compete with anybody,” Radamus said. “I think I personally, and Americans in general, have a track record as big event skiers. We like to show up when the lights are the brightest.
“A world championships can weigh on you or uplift you, so I want to thrive in that atmosphere, knowing that I don’t want to leave anything on the table and send it as hard as I can, as I did at the Olympics.”
Negomir aspires to compete in the French Alps at what will be his first major championship.
“Hopefully, I’ll be racing the super-G and Alpine combined at world champs. I’ve never been in any Olympics or World Championship caliber races, so it will be super special. Hopefully, I’ll perform and put on a show for people that I’m proud of.”
