River Radamus leads U.S. in Kranjska Gora World Cup giant slalom
Fellow SSCV alumni Bridger Gile scored his first World Cup points in 24th
Giovanni Auletta/AP photo
River Radamus led the U.S. Ski Team with his 12th-place finish at the World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora on Saturday. The Edwards skier, who came off the World Championships with a top-30 finish in the super-G in Crans Montana last week, finished with a two-run time of 2 minutes, 19.61 seconds.
Radamus moved up eight places in his second run on the Podkoren 3 slope.
“I made a costly mistake on first run and felt lucky to get a second,” Radamus told U.S. Ski and Snowboard media liaison Sierra Ryder. “I gave everything I had to take advantage of the opportunity on run two and was able to salvage a solid result, but I hope to leave behind the mistakes for the last few races of the season.”
Radamus currently sits 13th in the GS cup standings with two more events remaining — in Hafjell, Norway on March 15 and then in Sun Valley at the World Cup Finals on March 26.
On Saturday, Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen (2:18.18) took the win as Lucas Braaathen Pinheiro and Marco Odermatt rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively. It was Kristoffersen’s fourth win at the venue since 2016.
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“It is a hill where if you ski good, you normally get really good results,” he said. “Normally, you can’t cheat yourself to a good result, you have to be a really good technical skier.”
In addition to Radamus’ result, fellow Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alumni Bridger Gile earned his first World Cup points with a career-best 24th-place finish.
“Getting two runs feels like ski racing and I’m glad I got to ski race today,” Gile said. The Aspen native was 19th in the GS at the World Championships last month. The 25-year-old posted DNFs in his first two World Cup starts this season and failed to qualify for a second run in his last four, but he’s turned things around lately.
“As far as my skiing goes I think I have been skiing pretty well since the middle of January,” Gile continued. “And today I got a good start position and kept the same skiing and it worked out. I’ve watched River do second runs for a while now and it feels really good to be able to join him and PK (Patrick Kenney) in the second run. But this is just the beginning.”
Kenney was the second American in the field, placing 22nd.
“Huge day for the boys all around,” Radamus said.
“I’m beyond psyched to see Bridger collect his first World Cup points. I know how hard he’s been working for this and how hard it is to break through. I think this gives the whole team confidence seeing the hard work is paying off,” he continued. “It’s awesome to have PK in there again as well, and 3 in the second run. The guys are building some real momentum.”
Vonn 13th and 16th in Kvitfjell downhills
Lindsey Vonn placed 13th and 16th in a pair of World Cup downhill races in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Friday and Saturday, respectively. It was the eight-time downhill World Cup champion’s first visit to the slope. Prior to the speed weekend, she posted on social media, stating: “I’m having a blast getting to know the mountain. Experimenting every day with my equipment and I think I’m making progress. Focused on trying to improve every day, even if it’s small.”
Vonn’s teammate Lauren Macuga placed second in Saturday’s race, claiming her first World Cup downhill podium.
“I feel like it wasn’t me yesterday and today I went out there charging and my tuck over some terrain, and got over the outside ski and just sent it,” said Macuga, who was 15th in Friday’s race. “I think it was a solid run for me. … I was also trying to be clean and trying to be smart over the jump because that is such a crucial part of this course.”
