2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Zettel ends drought with Aspen slalom victory
Kathrin Zettel put an end to a drought of nearly three years when she won the Aspen World Cup slalom on Sunday.
In a combined time of one minute and 42.46 seconds, the 26-year-old Austrian snatched her ninth World Cup victory, the first since January 2010 in Maribor.
She beat world champion and fellow-Austrian Marlies Schild by 0.67 seconds while Slovenian Tina Maze, winner of Saturday's giant slalom on the same piste, was third 1.81 seconds behind.
Aspen has always been a special course for the withdrawn Zettel, who earned her first podium at the Colorado resort in 2005 and her first World Cup victory in a giant slalom a year later.
"It's so wonderful, I can't believe it. It's only my second victory in a slalom. I don't know what's so special about Aspen, ever since I came here I had great results, my first podium, my first victory," she said.
Since her early success, Zettel has struggled with health problems and notably a hip injury that hampered her in 2010 and 2011.
Her victory stopped compatriot Schild from equalling the record number of 34 World Cup slalom victories held by Swiss Vreni Schneider.
In the overall World Cup standings, Maze leads Zettel, who was second in Saturday's giant slalom, by 50 points on 310.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating World Cup

Kramer leads Dutch domination in Kolomna
Olympic champion Sven Kramer remains unbeaten in the 5000m in the speed skating World Cup this season after leading home a Dutch one-two-three-four for the second successive race.
The 26-year-old powered to victory during the opening round in Heerenveen last weekend with teammates Jorrit Bergsma, Jan Blokhuijsen and Bob de Jong second, third and fourth respectively.
And Kramer was at it again on the first day of the second round in Kolomna posting a significantly quicker time of 6:10.62minutes to win although the order of the next three did differ slightly.
Blokhuijsen took second 1.35seconds behind the Olympic 5000m champion with Bergsma third and de Jong fourth again before the first non-Dutch skater, Korea's Seung-Hoon Lee, in fifth.

Kramer leads the overall standings for the 5000m with 200 points while compatriot Marrit Leenstra went top of the ladies' 1500m rankings with victory in Russia.
Second in Hereenveen, Leenstra denied home hope Yekaterina Shikhova by 0.49 to win with a time of 1:55.03 while Olympic 1000m champion Christine Nesbitt was third 1.13 behind overall.
That sees Leenstra leapfrog Nesbitt, who won in Hereeveen at the top of the World Cup standings for the 1500m, the Dutch skater on a total of 180 points and the Canadian on 170.

And in the ladies' mass start event Bo-Reum Kim took the victory to jump up to second in the overall rankings behind another Dutch skater Mariska Huisman.
Kim clocked 8:40.77 for victory with Canada's Ivanie Blondin second and Huisman third but still in the overall lead by ten points over the Korean winner.


Bergsma tops rankings after win in Russia
Jorrit Bergsma shot to the top of the men's mass start speed skating World Cup rankings with victory in Kolomna, Russia.
The Dutchman headed to Russia with just 45 points from his World Cup opener on home ice in Heerenveen.
But he now sits top of the pile after collecting the maximum 100 points in Russia, his time of 10:00.7 enough for victory.
Bergsma is just five points ahead of France's Alex Contin after he finished third, with compatriot Ewen Fernandez just ahead of him in second.

There was more for the Dutch fans to be happy about in Russia as Koen Verweij claimed victory in the men's 1500m.
The victory moves Verweij up to third in the overall rankings, compatriot Maurice Vriend holding on to top spot with 145 points despite finishing sixth.
Completing the podium in Russia were Bart Swings of Belgium in second, with American Brian Hansen in third.

And in the women's 3000m the victory went to Germany's Claudia Pechstein, with Czech Martina Sablikova in second and Dutch skater Marije Joling third.
The victory moves Pechstein up to third in the overall standings on 121 points, Sablikova 39 points ahead in second on the same total as German Stephanie Beckert after she finished fourth in Russia.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon - Bjorndalen to miss Ostersund race

Ole Einar Bjorndalen will miss the opening individual World Cup race of the season as he recovers from illness.
The Norwegian legend has been struggling with flu and has opted not to compete in the 20km event in Ostersund.
”I’m healthy, but I realise that is still early to race. It will take a few more days. If I see progress in training, then I will make a statement on Saturday,” he said.
Norway’s Tarjei Boe, Jaroslav Soukup of the Czech Republic and France’s Simon Fourcade are other absentees due to illness or injury.
Meanwhile Martin Fourcade has said that retaining his World Cup title is not his primary objective this season.
"After my overall victory last season, the crystal ball is not the primary objective, especially with the World Championships [taking place]," he said as he looks forward to February's event in Nove Mesto.


Ski Jumping - Happonen sidelined after knee op

Janne Happonen has had knee surgery and will be sidelined for the rest of the season.
The Finn fell and injured his left knee in qualifying for last week's World Cup opener in Lillehammer.
The injury was subsequently diagnosed as a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament.
The 28-year-old will be out of action for at least six months and joins team-mate Anssi Koivuranta on the sidelines.
Happonen has three World Cup victories in his career and won Olympic silver in Turin in the team competition.


Alpine Skiing - Back surgery for Schild

Martina Schild has had to undergo back surgery and it is unclear when she will return to the World Cup circuit.
The 31-year-old Swiss racer had to return prematurely from Aspen to undergo surgery on a herniated disc in Zurich.
Schild won Olympic downhill silver in Turin in 2006 but has managed just two top 10s in the World Cup in the past two seasons with a best of fourth in the Super-G at Beaver Creek last season.


Snowboard - Snowboardcross opener given green light

The opening Snowboardcross event of the World Cup season in Montafon has been given the green light by FIS.
The official snow control at the Austrian resort was presided over by FIS race director Uwe Beier, along with the course designer, the head of local organising committee and the chief of competition.
All came to the conclusion that the course is ready to host the first event of the new season, although the course will be built higher than the ski resort of Silvretta Montafon at Seebliga.
“The local organisers are very motivated and are doing a great job,” said Beier. “We are very confident that everything will work out fine.”
OESV representative Christian Galler added: “Due to the weather forecast with lower temperatures and estimated snowfall there shouldn't be a problem to build the course.
"We still have to produce some 40,000 to 50.000 cubic metres of snow. But we have 25 snow canons right at the slope.”


Curling - Curling to head to Las Vegas

The World Curling Federation has announced that Las Vegas will host the 2014 Continental Cup in January.
The WCF, in a joint announcement along with the Canadian Curling Association and the US Curling Association, revealed that the event would be staged in America - and outside Canada - for the first time.
The 5,000-seat Orleans Arena, home to ice hockey's Las Vegas Wranglers, will host the action from January 16 to 19.
“Las Vegas is one of the iconic destinations in the world,” said WCF president Kate Caithness. “The World Curling Federation and its partners, the World Financial Group, the Canadian Curling Association and the US Curling Association, are thrilled to be able to showcase the sport of curling and its top international players in such a high profile location just ahead of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
“Place your bets as to who will win this tightly-fought competition which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in Las Vegas. One thing is for sure, for all involved, the biggest winner at this event will be our sport and the exposure for its finest athletes.”
The Continental Cup is a unique competition in the style of golf's Ryder Cup, with six teams from North America competing against six teams representing the rest of the world.
Heading into next year's event, the two sides are level at four wins apiece since the inaugural competition was staged in 2002.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Vonn 'faster than men' at Lake Louise

Lindsey Vonn made a point to FIS officials who prevented her racing with the men at Lake Louise last week with a blistering run in training for this week's women's downhill at the Canadian resort.
Vonn reached speeds of 136km/h during her training run which was faster than any of the men managed on the course, according to former Olympic downhill champion and CBC ski analyst Kerrin Lee-Gartner.
The American completed her run in a time of 1:52.10 which left her almost a full second ahead of Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch who came next on 1:53.05.
Dominique Gisin of Switzerland was third fastest.
Last week Vonn told Eurosport she was seeking legal advice to overturn the decision of FIS that she could not race against her male counterparts in the World Cup at Lake Louise.
"Had so much fun in the downhill training run today!!” Vonn posted on her Twitter account.
The weekend's opening training run also saw a return to action for Britain's Chemmy Alcott, who has not raced since she sustained horrific injuries in a crash as the same venue nearly two years ago.

Top 10 times

1. VONN Lindsey (USA) 1:52.10

2. HOEFL-RIESCH Maria (GER) 1:53.05

3. GISIN Dominique (SUI) 1:53.41

4. FANCHINI Elena (ITA) 1:53.42

5. STERZ Regina (AUT) 1:53.69

6. SCHMIDHOFER Nicole (AUT) 1:53.74

7. MAZE Tina (SLO) 1:53.90

8. COOK Stacey (USA) 1:53.91

9. MANCUSO Julia (USA) 1:53.92

10. MOSER Stefanie (AUT) 1:54.14


Alpine Skiing - Kroell sets early pace at Beaver Creek

Klaus Kroell paced the first men's downhill training session ahead of the weekend's World Cup race at Beaver Creek in the United States.
Under crisp blue skies in Colorado, Austrian Kroell set a time of 1:41.52 on the famous Birds of Prey slope to edge out compatriot and rising star Max Franz, who was 0.45 seconds back.
Italy's Christof Innerhofer rounded off the top three.
Kroell went close to victory at last year's event at Beaver Creek, ending up third, a mere 0.14 seconds behind winner Bode Miller and Beat Feuz - both of whom are now struggling to return from knee injuries, with the latter out for the season.
Kroell knows he has a good chance of what would be a first victory at Beaver Creek for him, but is aware winning the first training run does not count for much in the final reckoning.
"It's of course good for your confidence,” Kroell said. “But, it says almost nothing about what might happen in the races.
"It’s good to do a good time but most skiers take it easier as there is less pressure on the first training. This is one of the rare occasions when you can hold something back, luckily others held back more than me.”
Kroell, 33, said he was impressed with the Birds of Prey course.
“I had so much fun, it was great," he added. "The slope was great and already after inspection I knew that it was going to be so much fun skiing down.
"Of course my experience helps me a lot, on the start, even before the inspection I know exactly the way I need to go – I know exactly what I have to do, with a 10cm difference here and there. I push out the start focusing on skiing well and finding the best line. Today it simply worked.”
Aksel Lund Svindal, who was imperious in victory at Lake Louise last weekend, came in fifth, 0.88 seconds off the pace.
"Svindal has been amazing in Lake Louise and I am definitely keeping an eye on him. After dominating those first two races we all know he is strong and I will have to push hard in order to beat him,” Kroell added.
Wednesday's second training run is scheduled for 10:45am local time (5:45pm UK).

Top 10 times

1 KROELL Klaus AUT 1:41.52

2 FRANZ Max AUT 1:41.97

3 INNERHOFER Christof ITA 1:42.13

4 STREITBERGER Georg AUT 1:42.31

5 SVINDAL Aksel Lund NOR 1:42.40

6 SPORN Andrej SLO 1:42.48

7 THEAUX Adrien FRA 1:42.68

8 GUAY Erik CAN 1:42.71

9 JANSRUD Kjetil NOR 1:42.75

10 CLAREY Johan FRA 1:42.91

 

[Smallville22]

China men win gold at Pacific-Asia Curling Championship 2012
China won gold at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships after defeating Japan 6-2. As a result Japan took silver while Australia won bronze after defeating Korea.

China women win gold at Pacific-Asia Curling Championship 2012
China women are celebrating winning the gold medal at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championship 2012 after defeating Japan 10-4. Japan therefore take the silver medal and Korea have won bronze after defeating Australia.

Having played in gold medal games today, China and Japan have qualified for the World Women’s Curling Championship 2013, while China and Japan have also qualified for the Ford World Men’s Curling Championship 2013.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Ganong tops Beaver Creek timesheets

American Travis Ganong topped the timesheets on the second day of training ahead of this week's men's downhill World Cup race at Beaver Creek.
The 24-year-old posted a time of 1:41.38 down the famous Birds of Prey course to eclipse his better-known rivals on a day that was dominated by the lesser lights of the Alpine skiing scene.
Ganong's personal best race finish is a 12th place in last season's downhill in Kitzbuehel, but in fast conditions on the slope he indicated he could go better this week.
“The course is great, it's perfect snow – really smooth, you can do whatever you want,” Ganong said. “These conditions give you the freedom of charging if you want and is really forgiving. You can get away with a lot and it’s nice.
"The snow conditions are really fast, in the four years I have raced here this is the fastest I have ever seen it. Especially in the last section, before the Red Tail jump, you can really feel the speed.
“The course set feels as if it turns more than in the past,” Ganong added. "So I doubt we will be able to break the 1:39 record, but we are getting close. It would be cool to break that on race day.
"I don’t look at the other guys, I focus on my skiing and I think today was a very solid run that gives me something to build up on tomorrow and on race day."
Ganong's time was 0.29 better than his nearest rival, Siegmar Klotz. The Italian has never placed better than 13th in super-G and 15th in downhill during his World Cup career.
“I am excited, I don’t even know what my best result in Beaver Creek is, so it’s for sure a nice feeling being this fast – even it’s just a training run, it gives me confidence that I could do well here this year," Klotz said.
Joachim Puchner of Austria rounded off the top three, 0.8 seconds off the leader's pace.
“It’s so much fun to ski here these two days,” Puchner said. “It’s so smooth that even the fact that it’s so fast doesn’t make you feel like you are out of control.
"There was a moment coming down where the speed is so fast that you feel as if there is no chance to make it to the next gate – but then the snow holds perfectly and the skis go in the direction you want them to.“
The third and final training run is scheduled for 10:45am local time (5.45pm UK), although some of the more experienced skiers are expected to skip the run.

Top 10 results:

1 GANONG Travis USA 1:41.38

2 KLOTZ Siegmar ITA 1:41.67

3 PUCHNER Joachim AUT 1:42.18

4 FAYED Guillermo FRA 1:42.41

5 INNERHOFER Christof ITA 1:42.43

6 REICHELT Hannes AUT 1:42.44

7 SULLIVAN Marco USA 1:42.48

8 JANKA Carlo SUI 1:42.54

9 STECHERT Tobias GER 1:42.57

10 PARIS Dominik ITA 1:42.64


Alpine Skiing - Rolland shines in training, Vonn takes it easy

France's Marion Rolland went quickest in the second training session ahead of the women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise.
Rolland set a time of 1:53.30 to top the timesheets ahead of Regina Sterz and Maria Hoefl-Riesch.
On a day where few of the skiers pushed themselves to their limits, Lindsey Vonn finished in ninth place after going fastest in the first session.
The American - a triple winner at Lake Louise last year and holder of 11 victories at the venue that has become known as 'Lake Lindsey' - stood up well before the finish.
The third training run is scheduled for Thursday, with the races to come on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Top 10 results:

1 ROLLAND Marion FRA 1:53.30

2 STERZ Regina AUT 1:53.34

3 HOEFL-RIESCH Maria GER 1:53.36

4 WEIRATHER Tina LIE 1:53.56

5 FENNINGER Anna AUT 1:53.57

6 MERIGHETTI Daniela ITA 1:53.76

7 GOERGL Elisabeth AUT 1:53.79

8 MAZE Tina SLO 1:53.87

9 VONN Lindsey USA 1:54.23

10 COOK Stacey USA 1:54.33

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Fourcade wins World Cup opener in Ostersund
Martin Fourcade began the defence of his World Cup crown in perfect style by winning the 20km individual event in Ostersund.
The Frenchman, who won eight races last season en-route to the Crystal Globe, repeated his victory in the Swedish curtain-raiser by crossing the line in 50:44.7
Fourcade missed just once, his third effort in the first standing shoot, to finish 12.3 seconds clear of Dominik Landertinger.
The Austrian, fourth in the individual standings last year, also hit 19 targets and proved his fitness after spring knee surgery with a strong ski.
German Erik Lesser hit all 20 targets to record a maiden World Cup podium finish, finishing third just 21.7 seconds back.
Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen, the 2009/10 World Cup champion, missed out on a 29th career victory after two misses in his first standing shoot. Those two minutes in penalties meant he had to settle for fourth, 37.1 seconds behind the winner.
A shock looked on the cards when Bulgaria's Krasimir Anev and Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic - neither of whom have ever been on a World Cup podium - entered the range for the final time with a perfect shooting record.
But Anev missed his final shot and had to settle for a career-best eighth, behind Russia’s Olympic mass start champion Evegeny Ustyugov, Austrian Friedrich Pinter, wearing bib 93, and World Cup debutant Erlend Bjoentegaard, 91.4 seconds adrift of the winner.
Moravec pushed two wide and finished 14th.
Home expectations were raised when Carl Johan Bergman and Bjorn Ferry hit their first 10 targets but three costly misses in the second-half of the race saw them finish over two minutes behind the winner.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Berger opens season with Oestersund win
Tora Berger easily won the first IBU Biathlon World Cup race of the season by claiming he 15km individual in Oestersund, Sweden.
The 31-year-old Norwegian won the 15km women's individual event in a time of 44:33.5 minutes, 1:03.2 clear of her nearest rival, after a perfect shooting display.
Berger is the reigning Olympic and world champion in the individual discipline and in the first race of the season since the retirement of the all-conquering Magdalena Neuner she blew the competition away.
Belarus' Darya Domracheva, many people's favourite for this season's World Cup title after finishing second overall behind Neuner last campaign, had to settle for second.
Third was Russia's Ekaterina Glazyrina, more than two minutes behind Tora Berger, beside having a perfect shooting as well.
Finland's Kaisa Makarainen, the World Cup champion from the 2010/11 season, had an off day at the shooting range with four misses relegating her down to ninth.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Svindal wins third training at Beaver Creek

Aksel Lund Svindal ramped up his performance to top the timesheets on the third day of training ahead of the men's World Cup races at Beaver Creek.
The Norwegian, who won both the downhill and super-G in Lake Louise last weekend, clocked a time of 1:42.04 down the challenging Birds of Prey course.
He finished 0.18 seconds ahead of Guillermo Fayed of France, with Siegmer Klotz again ending the day in the top three after posting a time 0.36 off the pace.
Svindal managed the fifth best time during the first training session and did not feature at all in the top 10 after the second run, but the two-times overall World Cup champion said his plan was always to improve as the week progressed.
“My approach these three days was to take it easy in the beginning,” Svindal said. “In second training I tested some equipment and it didn’t work well – but with three trainings you can do that.
"My skiing was not there yesterday so last night I spent a lot of time watching videos, and I watched the best run but mostly focused on watching what I did and trying to figure out how to clean it out.
"The bottom line is you can’t have slow sections in this race if you want to be competitive."
Svindal suffered a big crash at Beaver Creek five years ago, an incident which he says has helped him get to know the course better year on year.
“I skied this course in my head so many times after my crash that I can really say I know it well,” he says.
“This year I feel more stable than last year, I was leading the overall up until New Year and that’s when (Marcel) Hirscher and (Beat) Feuz started winning everything.
"This year the goal is to be consistent through the whole season. Feuz is not here but Hirscher and probably Ted Ligety will be able to challenge me.
"I have been working on that, as last year super-G was good last year but downhill and giant slalom had too many ups and downs. I want to race every race for a top finish, and even if I don’t get it, now I know at least that I am there among the best.”
The first downhill race of the week is scheduled to take place at 10.45 local time (5:45pm in the UK).

Top 10 results:

1 SVINDAL Aksel Lund NOR 1:42.04

2 FAYED Guillermo FRA 1:42.22

3 KLOTZ Siegmar ITA 1:42.40

4 GANONG Travis USA 1:42.45

5 KROELL Klaus AUT 1:42.49

6 FRANZ Max AUT 1:42.90

7 STREITBERGER Georg AUT 1:42.96

8 PARIS Dominik ITA 1:42.97

9 ROMAR Andreas FIN 1:43.04

10 PUCHNER Joachim AUT 1:43.13


Ski Jumping - Hvala tops Kuusamo qualifying

Jaka Hvala of Slovenia topped ski jumping qualifying ahead of the World Cup event in Kuusamo, Finland.
The 19-year-old managed 145 metres, 2m short of the hill record.
He won both training jumps and totalled 148.4 points in his qualification round.
Richard Freitag’s 139m jump put him second, with Japan’s Taku Takeuchi third despite posting a 142, his total of 142.8 two points shy of the German’s.

Top 10 results:

1. HVALA Jaka SLO 148.4

2. FREITAG Richard GER 144.8

3. TAKEUCHI Taku JPN 142.8

4. LOITZL Wolfgang AUT 137.0

5. KASAI Noriaki JPN 135.8

6. KOFLER Andreas AUT 135.7

7. KOBAYASHI Junshiro JPN 133.1

8. VASSILIEV Dimitry RUS 132.0

9. TEPES Jurij SLO 128.1

10. KOCH Martin AUT 126.7


Alpine Skiing - Sick Vonn sits out training

Marion Rolland again went fastest in downhill training at Lake Louise as Lindsey Vonn skipped Thursday’s action after feeling unwell.
Italy’s Daniela Merighetti was second behind the Frenchwoman, who was also quickest on day two, with Anna Fenninger of Austria third.
British star Chemmy Alcott, in her first event since breaking her leg at the same venue two years ago, was 36th, with 53 women set to race on Friday.
Vonn’s team-mate Stacey Cook explained the American star’s absence.
"I had breakfast with her this morning and she seemed cheery and her normal self, so somewhere between breakfast and here I guess she wasn't feeling well," Cook said.
"She'll be ready for tomorrow, I know it. She'll make all of us look bad again."
Vonn hit headlines by going quicker than the men had in her first training session on Tuesday.
The American world champion has recently had a request to race with the men rejected by the FIS.
The first of two women’s downhills is scheduled for Friday, with a super-G set for Sunday.
Vonn won all three races last year.

Top 10 results:

1. ROLLAND Marion FRA 1:52.94

2. MERIGHETTI Daniela ITA 1:53.12

3. FENNINGER Anna AUT 1:53.35

4. COOK Stacey USA 1:53.42

5. MOSER Stefanie AUT 1:53.62

6. HOEFL-RIESCH Maria GER 1:53.64

7. MANCUSO Julia USA 1:53.71

8. REBENSBURG Viktoria GER 1:53.72

9. MAZE Tina SLO 1:53.94

10. GISIN Dominique SUI 1:53.98

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Kriukov ends Norwegian run in Kuusamo
Nikita Kriukov and Marit Bjorgen won the opening sprint events of the World Cup season in Kuusamo.

Russia's defending Olympic champion Kriukov edged out Petter Northug to win the men's event.
Kriukov and Dmitriy Japarov went out quickly in the final but 2009/2010 World Cup champion Northug looked to have made a decisive move on the final climb.
But Kriukov got in Northug's slipstream and beat him in the dash to the line by four tenths to end Norway's World Cup winning streak this season at five races.
Kriukov said: "I am very happy. I knew that Petter was very strong uphill but the last 100m I tried my best to win."
Eirik Brandsdal was a distant third ahead of Japarov with Alexey Poltoranin and Kalle Lassilan taking the minor places.
Leading qualifier Emil Jönsson crashed out in the opening semi while defending discipline champion and Swedish team-mate Teodor Peterson was fourth in the same race and did not progress to the showpiece.

Norway's Bjorgen followed up her victory in Saturday 10km event in Gällivare with an emphatic victory in the women's event.
The defending World Cup champion finished two seconds clear of Russia's Evgenia Shapovalova whose compatriot Anastasia Dotsenko took third.
The triple Olympic gold medallist made a slow start in the final but a stumble by early leader Katja Visnar of Slovenia delayed her and Krista Lahteenmäki.
Bjorgen, who only reached the semi-finals as a lucky loser, then surged ahead on the final uphill climb to claim her 57th World Cup victory.
Bjoergen admitted her change after the heats made all the difference, saying: "I felt better and better as the races went on and I am really happy to have won.
"I changed my skis after the first race and a little bit of my technique because they weren't that good for the heats but I was happy with the semi-final and final."
Anne Kylloenen of Sweden was fourth ahead of home favourite Lahteenmäki and Visnar.
Bjorgen's main rival Justyna Kowalczyk was the top qualifier but came only third in the opening semi-final and did not progress as a fastest loser, nor did defending World Cup discipline champion Kikkan Randall.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Innerhofer wins Beaver Creek downhill
Christof Innerhofer put his latest injury woes behind him by winning the Beaver Creek men's downhill in style on Friday, a victory he said amounted to "a recovery."
The Italian earned the nickname 'Winnerhofer' after bagging three medals, including the Super-G gold, at the Garmish-Partenkirchen world championships in 2011, but since then, wins had been fewer than health problems.
A 2011 injury during training left him with a concussion and back problems and a car crash in July revived painful memories.
"This podium is very important for me because some time ago I wasn't even sure I would be able to keep skiing. Today, I beat Svindal, I couldn't be happier. It's more than a race today, it's a recovery," said Innerhofer.
His victory in last winter's final Super-G in Schladming had signalled his talent was intact and the Italian, 28, confirmed his return to form on the Birds of Prey piste in one minute and 41.69 seconds to win his second World Cup downhill.
Innerhofer, who clinched his maiden downhill victory in Bormio in 2009, beat pre-race favourite Aksel Lund Svindal by 0.23 seconds while fellow Norwegian Kjetil Janrsrud was third, 0.50 behind.
"It's been such a long time since my first downhill victory in Bormio that I don't really know what to say, especially after what I've been through," said Innerhofer, who has now won four World Cup races.
"I really didn't know what to expect. I went through hell for the past 10 months and it doesn't seem real. After each skier I kept looking at the scoreboard to make sure I was still up there."
Svindal, who achieved a rare double by winning both the downhill and the Super-G in Lake Louise a week ago, failed to make it three in a row but took his lead in the overall World Cup standings to 110 points over giant slalom world champion Ted Ligety of the U.S.
On a roll after his two victories in Canada, the Norwegian admitted he had probably taken too many risks on a piste he knows like the palm of his hand.
"It's clear that I was going too fast. To be forced to brake in a downhill is just crazy. It cost me victory but I took my chances and that's the way to do it on a piste like this," he said.
To share the podium with team mate Jansrud was ample consolation.
"I'm glad to be on the podium with Kjetil. As I said before, you can never rule him out, in downhills and Super-G's as well.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow as I'm sure there's more to come for Norway during the weekend," Svindal added.
The Beaver Creek programme continues with a Super-G on Saturday and a giant slalom on Sunday.
The race was marred by the crash of Germany's Tobias Stechert, who ended his run in the safety nets with a knee injury.
"I hurt my knee. Unfortunately I had this before and I know what it is to tear your ligaments. I hope that's not the case but I feel it's not good," he said.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Vonn cruises to 12th Lake Louise victory
Lindsey Vonn resumed her winning ways in her Lake Louise backyard by clinching her 12th race in the Canadian resort after a false start to the season.
Her 10th downhill victory on the Men's Olympic piste was clocked in one minute and 52.61 seconds and the American's first World Cup win of the winter was her 54th overall.
With her usual ease on a course she knows to perfection, Vonn left her nearest rival, compatriot Stacey Cook, a huge 1.73 seconds adrift, while Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch and Liechtenstein's Tina Weirather shared the third spot, 0.01 seconds further back.
But despite her considerable lead, Vonn insisted it had been a hard race given her season start was hampered by a hand injury and stomach problems which forced her to spend time in hospital.
"It was extremely hard and I was very nervous this morning. Yesterday I didn't feel well enough to train and I knew everybody was watching and I couldn't miss out," she said.
"It forced me to have a good run even though the piste wasn't great and I'm far from my best shape. It's a pleasant surprise."
The race was held in poor conditions of visibility and halted three times because of the fog - Swiss Lara Gut was even allowed to start again after being showed the yellow flag halfway down her run.
But the organisers still managed to squeeze all the skiers down the course.
Despite her reservations about her current form, Vonn admitted she was "back in her comfort zone" in Lake Louise.
"With all the training runs and NorAm races, I must have skied down this piste 100 times," said Vonn, who petitioned for the right to race in the men's season-opening downhill last week in the Canadian Rockies.
"It’s like home but I really wanted this win badly especially after all the fuss around my wish to race against the men."
Cook's second place was the only relative surprise of the day's race as the American had never made it on a World Cup podium yet, but her best result to date had been a 4th place in a previous Lake Louise downhill in 2006.
By contrast, World Cup leader Tina Maze, winner of two giant slaloms this season, was a disappointing 20th, 3.26 behind Vonn.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Marsaglia wins Beaver Creek Super-G
Italy's Matteo Marsaglia snatched his maiden World Cup victory in a men's Super-G at Beaver Creek on Saturday and warned more was to come.
The 27-year-old Italian, who had never previously made it to a World Cup podium, clocked one minute and 14.68 seconds to emulate compatriot Christof Innerhofer, winner of Friday's downhill on the same Birds of Prey course.
"Yesterday, Innerhofer won - same team, same skis and same skiman. I think it's only the beginning of a great season," said Marsaglia, who had scored his best result by finishing fourth in a Super-G at the Schladming World Cup finals in March.
The Roman-born speed specialist beat pre-race favourite and current World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal, who had to be content with second place for the second day running, 0.27 seconds behind.
"Wow what a day, I can't really believe it. I was there waiting for the others to go down in front of the leader's board and when I saw that I beat Svindal's time I just couldn't believe it," said Marsaglia.
"It's just mad. It's my first victory. I narrowly missed out in Schladming when I finished fourth but I knew my skiing was good. I kept working on my strengths this summer and the confidence was there."
Svindal, who won both races in Lake Louise last weekend, broke clear in the race for the big globe, leading American giant slalom world champion Ted Ligety by 140 points.
"Two wins in Lake Louise, two second places here, I think it's pretty good," the Norwegian said. "I was again pretty lucky today. I again needed to work hard not to go out. Once again, I was going too fast."
The last place on the podium went to Austria's Hannes Reichelt, 0.70 seconds off the pace.
Ligety confirmed his progression in speed events by missing the podium by 0.04 seconds, finishing fourth as he did in the first Super G of the season.
The race was marred by several crashes, the most serious involving Max Franz, runner-up in the Lake Louise downhill a week ago.
The Austrian collided with a gate at the end of jump and violently hit the canvas, briefly losing consciousness.
He was taken to hospital in Vail for checks with bruises to his face but his legs and arms were unhurt, Austrian team spokesman Markus Aichner said.
"Max is with us again, he's conscious. He jumped into a gate and probably lost consciousness straightaway. It's too early to say anything about his injuries," Austrian coach Mathias Berthold said.
Team morale was affected, he said.
World Cup holder Marcel Hischer, who will be the leading favourite with Ligety in Sunday's giant slalom, stayed in the coaches' room after the crash in shock.


Vonn wins Lake Louise downhill
Win number 13 at Lake Louise was a lucky number for Lindsey Vonn, who won her second downhill in two days in the Canadian resort in spite of a huge mistake.
The American took a turn so short that she nearly stopped in the top section of the men's Olympic course, yet retained enough speed and strength to upstage all her rivals and snatch her 55th World Cup victory in one minute and 52.90 seconds.
Like in Friday's downhill on the same course, Vonn's compatriot Stacey Cook was second, 0.52 adrift, while Swiss Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden was third, 0.62 behind for only her second World Cup podium placing.
It was Vonn's sixth downhill victory in succession in the village that has been dubbed Lake Lindsey because of the tremendous amount of success by the four times World Cup champion.
Vonn will be going for her 14th victory at Lake Louise in Sunday's Super-G, hoping that the foggy conditions in the past couple of days will improve.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Leguellec takes historic World Cup win for Canada
Jean-Philippe Leguellec made history at the opening World Cup event of the season in Ostersund as he became the first male Canadian to claim victory on the circuit.
The 27-year-old, sixth in the 10km sprint at the Winter Olympics in 2010, shot a perfect ten in the same event in Sweden to romp to his first-ever World Cup win in 25:10.4.
And, not only is Leguellec the first Canadian male to ever win a World Cup race, his success is the biggest for the nation in the sport since Myriam Bedard took double Olympic gold at Lillehammer 1994.
Leguellec was one of only two in the top 10 to shoot perfectly however his skiing was just as good as he won by a margin of 18.1 seconds over Alexis Boeuf of France.
Boeuf missed just one of his 10 targets but showed a better turn of pace than Christoph Sumann to beat the Austrian into second by over six seconds.
Reigning World Cup champion Martin Fourcade, who won the 20km individual earlier in the week, missed three targets to finish 10th over 40 seconds behind Leguellec.


Berger doubles up in Ostersund
Tora Berger made it two individual wins from two at the opening round of the new World Cup season in Ostersund, this time underlining her dominance in the women's 7.5km sprint.
Berger has enjoyed a fine start to her campaign in Sweden, first winning silver in the mixed relay event with Norway before storming to victory in the 15km individual next time out.
And the Olympic champion made it three top-three finishes from three and two wins from two in the 7.5km sprint and she still has the 10km pursuit to swiftly follow on in Ostersund.
Like the rest of the top four, Berger missed one of her 10 targets however she proved too quick to catch around the Swedish course as she won by nearly 17 seconds.
Berger clocked a winning time of 21:34.0 with Olena Pidhrushna of Ukraine 16.9 seconds back in second and Russian Olga Vilukhina a further 2.5 adrift in third.
Germany's Andrea Henkel was the only one of the top seven to record a perfect 10 however it was only good enough for fifth as another Russian, Olga Zaitseva, took fourth.

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Legkov wins 10km freestyle but Northug leads Ruka Triple
Alexander Legkov recorded a shock victory in the 10km freestyle as Petter Northug produced a remarkable fightback to keep the defence of his Ruka Triple title on track in Kuusamo.
Legkov, who was part of the Russian 4x7.5km relay team that finished third at the World Cup opener in Gaellivare last weekend, was a rank outsider at 40/1 for victory in the 10km freestyle in Finland.
However, having won the first-ever Ruka Triple in Kuusamo in 2010, the 29-year-old was dominant once more on Finnish snow as he stormed to a winning time of 21:52.8.
Not even a fightback from Northug could deny Legkov. The Norwegian, who was second in the sprint on Friday, powering through the final kilometres only to miss out on victory by 6.8 seconds.
Northug was over 13 seconds down on Legkov at one stage after a poor start but his efforts were not completely in vain as he leads the Ruka Triple standings with an overall time of 23:49.0.
That is exactly 40 seconds ahead of Alexey Poltoranin, who was 15th in the 10km freestyle, while Legkov is third overall 53.2 adrift of Northug with the 15km classic pursuit left to tackle.
France's Maurice Manificat completed the top three in the 10km freestyle but he is well down in the overall Ruka Triple rankings over a minute behind leader Northug.
However, with temperatures plummeting in to as low as -14 degrees, Legkov admits the conditions are only suiting him ahead of the final event of the competition on Sunday.
"The 10km freestyle was a super competition, I am in good shape and it was very cold but for me it is better when it is cold," said Legkov.
"It was a good competition, my shape got better and better and maybe in the next competition it will be even better."


Bjoergen makes it three in Kuusamo
Marit Bjoergen moved one step closer to completing the defence of her Ruka Triple title with her third straight victory of the season in the 5km freestyle in Kuusamo.
Drawn to come out last after winning the opening sprint event in Finland, not having anyone to chase didn’t affect Bjoergen one bit as she stormed to a comprehensive victory.
The 32-year-old triple Olympic champion executed the perfect race to win in a time of 12:02.9 with the winning margin over American Kikkan Randall in second a massive 22.7 seconds.
With the Ruka Triple counting as just one World Cup as opposed to three separate ones, Bjoergen didn’t add to her career haul of 56 wins but she isn’t far away from doing so in Kuusamo.
Yulia Tchekaleva set the early pace in Finland after clocking 12:27.4 however that looked like being beaten by Therese Johaug when she reached the 3.1km mark with the Norwegian eight seconds ahead.
However she lost a considerable amount of time from the top of the climb to the finish and had to make do with fourth 3.1 behind Tchekaleva, who was to be knocked off top spot by Randall.
Randall timed her race well however it was nothing compared to Bjoergen who never looked troubled around the Kuusamo course with just the 10km classical pursuit left to take the Ruka Triple title.
Bjoergen’s overall time stands at 14:15.7 with Randall in second but a further 52.7 down on the Norwegian while Finland’s Krista Lahteenmaki is third 58.5 behind overall.
“I was feeling very good. I felt like my skis were very good and that it was going to be my day,” said Bjoergen. “I am really happy with this race and everything was perfect.
“I wanted to speed up from the beginning, I knew I had a six-second lead early in the race and then it was 15 and then 22 and I knew it was going to be my day.”

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping World Cup

Hvala horror show hands Freund win in Kuusamo
Jaka Hvala completely fluffed his lines at the third round of the World Cup to hand Severin Freund his second victory and Germany a double in Kuusamo.
Hvala, who is yet to finish on the World Cup podium individually let alone win, stormed into the lead after producing by far the biggest jump of the first round, 141m, for an overall total of 140.8 points.
That effort was over eight points better than Freund's in second, however, the pressure appeared to get to the 19-year-old Slovenian as he was the last to jump in the second round in Finland.
By then Freund had set the bar high recording the equal best leap of the second round, 135.5m, to overtake Russian Dimitry Vassiliev in the lead with his combined total 266.1 points.
But Hvala couldn't respond and managed an effort of just 97m and 53.7 points which gave him a below par overall total of 194.5 ranking him well down the field in 24th.
That left Freund celebrating his second win from the three events so far this season while Vassiliev took the runners-up spot just behind the German with a total of 265.4.
Freund and Vassiliev were well clear of the rest of the field with Simon Ammann edging out Gregor Schlierenzauer and teenager Andreas Wellinger for third with 255.7 points.
And, even before the late drama involving Hvala, there was a shock as World Cup leader Thomas Morgenstern didn't even qualify for the second round after a below par first jump.

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined World Cup

Lamy-Chappuis back to winning ways in World Cup
Three-time World Cup champion Jason Lamy-Chappuis finally announced himself on the new season in Kuusamo, dominating from start to finish to win the third event of the campaign.
The 26-year-old Olympic champion, who claimed a third successive World Cup title last season, played second fiddle to Magnus Moan during the opening round in Lillehammer as the Norwegian won both scheduled competitions.
Second in the first event and fourth in the second, there was to be no denying Lamy-Chappuis as the World Cup moved to Finland as he led after the ski jumping and then powered to victory in the cross-country skiing phase.
The Frenchman recorded by far the best total in the ski jumping with his effort of 139.3 almost four points clear of Slovenia's Marjan Jelenko and giving him a 15-second cushion ahead of the ski.
And, despite the best efforts of Magnus Krog, who won in Kuusamo last year, Lamy-Chappuis' time of 26:49.5 was enough to give him victory by 13 seconds over the Norwegian.
Well down in 13th after the ski jumping and 57 seconds behind Lamy-Chappuis, Krog put in a remarkable ski to finish second while there was double celebration for France as Sebastien Lacroix ended third.
Lacroix's rise through the field was equally, if not more, impressive than Krog's as, over a minute behind Lamy-Chappuis following the ski jump, he finished just 13.2 seconds shy of his team-mate to deny Eric Frenzel third by half a second.

 

[Smallville22]

Luge World Cup

No stopping Wendl and Arlt in Konigssee
Germany's Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt made it two World Cup wins from two this season as they claimed doubles victory in Konigssee.
The pair headed to their home track in confident mood having got their campaign off to a superb start with victory in Igls, and also safe in the knowledge that they had won the last three World Cup events at Konigssee.
And it quickly became apparent that they were in the mood to make it four as they set a new track record of 50.480 seconds in their first run.
They were unable to go faster in their second run but their total time of 1:40.977 minutes was more than enough to take the victory by a comfortable margin.
Compatriots Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken were 0.415 seconds behind in second while Austrian Olympic, World and European champions Andreas and Wolfgang Linger finished third, one place better than their Igls performance.
Wendl and Arlt sit pretty atop the World Cup standings with a maximum 200 points, with compatriots Eggert and Benecken 30 points behind while the Linger brothers and fellow Austrians Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, who finished fourth in Konigssee, are joint third on 130.


Geisenberger claims yet another German win
Natalie Geisenberger claimed her first win of the new World Cup season and seventh podium finish in eight as Germany's all-round dominance shows no signs of stopping.
Geisenberger finished second behind team-mate Anke Wischnewski during the opening World Cup round in Igls that saw Felix Loch win the men's event and Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt the doubles.
Germany had a clean sweep in the men's event in Austria and another duo on the podium in the doubles while Wendl and Arlt won again as the World Cup on home soil in Koenigsee got underway.
Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken were second for the second successive race before Geisenberger continued Germany's incredible start to the season by producing a storming first run and then holding onto it.
Geisenberger clocked 50.712 seconds for the lead from run one and, despite going slower in 50.738 second time out, it was enough to edge out team-mate Tatjana Hufner by just 0.031.
Hufner was third after run one with 50.772 but produced 50.709, by far the best, from run two to move up the field but it was just narrowly short of her first win of the season.
Alex Gough, third during the opening round, had to make do with the same place again, 0.120 behind Hufner while Wischnewski was fourth and another German Aileen Frisch was fifth.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Vonn maintains unbeaten run in Lake Louise
Lindsey Vonn achieved her second Lake Louise treble in succession when she won Sunday's Super-G, the third race on the weekend programme at the Canadian resort.
The American clocked one minute and 22.82 seconds to snatch her 14th victory at her favourite skiing venue, her seventh in succession, but she confessed the effort had worn her out.
"I'm just shattered, I'm running on low battery," said Vonn, who collapsed at the feet of second-placed team-mate Julia Mancuso in the finish area.
With 56 victories, the four times World Cup champion is now the second most successful skier in history behind Annemarie Moser-Proell, whose record of 62 wins is in serious jeopardy.
But the downhill Olympic champion can already claim to have won more actual races than the legendary Austrian, whose record included seven combineds, which at the time were mere additions of a downhill and a slalom held separately.
Mancuso completed a clean sweep by the U.S. Ski team at the weekend by finishing second, 0.43 behind, emulating compatriot Stacey Cook, runner-up in both Friday's and Saturday's downhills behind Vonn.
Austria's Anna Fenninger took the last podium spot, 0.02 seconds behind Mancuso.
Tina Maze retained the overall World cup lead by finishing a solid fourth, 0.62 off Vonn's pace.
The Slovenian now leads the standings with 397 points, ahead of Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch on 319, while Vonn is back in third place with 310 points.
Maze saw her fourth place as a real satisfaction because, unlike Vonn, she does not like the Lake Louise course.
"The end section is so long that I kept singing to myself not to get too bored," she said.
Vonn did not have an ideal preparation for the weekend, suffering previously from a stomach bug which weakened her, and she said she would have to save energy this season to focus on her main goals.
"It's going to be a hard-fought season because Tina is really motivated and she can score points in every event," said the American, who said she considered skipping a number of slaloms this winter, especially the town races held in Munich, Zagreb and Moscow.
The World Cup circuit returns to Europe next weekend with a super-G, a giant slalom and a super-combined in St Moritz.
After her new show of strength in Canada, the question of whether Vonn should be allowed to race with the men remains.
Swiss coach Hans Flatscher jokingly said there was an excellent reason to let her compete in the men's ranks in the future.
"This way," he said, "there will be three available places on the podium in Lake Louise instead of two."


Ligety too strong in Beaver Creek giant slalom
Ted Ligety was again far too strong for the opposition as he cruised to his second giant slalom victory of the season at Beaver Creek.
The win, in a combined time of two minutes 25.59 seconds, was the American's 13th in the discipline and the third at Beaver Creek as he again pleased home fans with two blistering runs.
The giant slalom world champion, who won the season opener in Soelden with a record lead of 2.75 seconds, was a little less impressive this time, but still left second-placed Austrian Marcel Hirscher a huge 1.76 behind.
Italy's Davide Simoncelli was third, 2.07 adrift, for his first podium in more than two years.
"It was a great battle today and a special feeling. I'm proud to have shown to the American fans what I can do," said Ligety, still sporting the moustache he grew after November was declared the moustache month.
"It's not the same when you know that everybody at the bottom is expecting you to win and to do it by such a margin," he added.
"Obviously, after Soelden, I had a little bit of pressure on my shoulders. It remained to be seen whether I could repeat the same race and the same gap. It's true it looks a little bit like Hermann Maier when he won his races by two seconds but I'm not looking for that. I try to race like Ligety."
His victory crowned a perfect weekend for the U.S. Ski Team after the treble achieved by Lindsey Vonn in Lake Louise and the three runner-up spots earned by Stacey Cook and Julia Mancuso.
Yet, like Vonn, Ligety said the race had been far from a piece of cake.
"It was not easy today," he said. "I could not believe I was first after the first run because I had a terrible feeling all the way down. I had the impression I was doing everything wrong."
Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal was sixth and retained his overall World Cup lead with 400 points ahead of Ligety, who is on 320.
The two appear the most serious threats to World Cup holder Hirscher, who was again impressed by Ligety whom he beat for the giant slalom World Cup last winter.
"With a skier like Ligety, you don't know how long it's going to last, two weeks, two months or two years, but I'll keep fighting to stay in the race at all cost", he said.
Hirscher said he had good feelings in Saturday's Super-G on the Birds of Prey course and was less afraid than in the past by speed events.
The men's circuit moves to Val d'Isere in France next weekend, a resort in which the Austrian earned his first laurels.
"I love Val d'Isere and I think Val d'Isere loves me," he said.

 

[Smallville22]

Luge World Cup

Langenhan upstages compatriot Loch in Koenigssee
Germany's Andi Langenhan upstaged his illustrious compatriot Felix Loch to seal luge World Cup victory on home soil in Koenigssee.
Langenhan, who has two World Championships bronze medals to his name, most recently in 2011, produced a new track record with his first run to lead at the halfway stage and while Loch was quicker in the second, he held on to claim victory.
Langenhan's time of 49.252 seconds gave him the edge over Olympic and three-time individual world champion Loch, who was 0.104 slower in the first outing.
Loch responded like the champion he is and in the second run he piled the pressure on Langenhan, clocking 49.364.
But Langenhan responded and while his second outing was slower – 49.427 – his combined time of 1:38.679 was good enough to take the victory by just 0.041 from Loch, who won the opening World Cup of the season in Innsbruck.
David Moller posted the third fastest times in both of his runs to ensure a German 1-2-3, ending up with a combined time of 1.38.942.