Are: Svindal tops men's GS for second gold; Ligety 4th

After collecting his second gold medal of these World Championships in Wednesday’s men’s giant slalom, Aksel Lund Svindal was asked whether winning the overall World Cup title would trump the hardware he’s hauled in from Are so far.
    “I’ve said this many times before, but I think winning the overall World Cup is the biggest thing you can do as a skier,” Svindal said. “It means you were the best skier through the year. It seems like I’m the best skier this week, but if I can win the overall I’ll be the best skier all year.
    “But on the other hand, I won two races at the World Championships, two gold medals. And that means I won something this year and takes the pressure off a little bit. I can be a little more relaxed.”
    If Svindal skis any more relaxed, he may cross the finish line asleep.
    Svindal, the World Cup points leader entering these worlds, showed why in the second run Wednesday. Fourth after the first run, Svindal constructed a masterpiece his second time down the Olympia course on a set by U.S. coach Mike Morin. His time of 1 minute, 9.97 seconds was bettered only by Canadian John Kucera, and Svindal overtook first-run leader Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland to win with a two-run combined time of 2:19.64. Albrecht, already a gold medalist here in the super combined, held on for second in 2:20.12, while Albrecht’s veteran teammate, Didier Cuche, finished third in 2:20.56.

ARE, Sweden — After collecting his second gold medal of these World Championships in Wednesday’s men’s giant slalom, Aksel Lund Svindal was asked whether winning the overall World Cup title would trump the hardware he’s hauled in from Are so far.
    “I’ve said this many times before, but I think winning the overall World Cup is the biggest thing you can do as a skier,” the Norwegian Svindal said. “It means you were the best skier through the year. It seems like I’m the best skier this week, but if I can win the overall I’ll be the best skier all year.
    “But on the other hand, I won two races at the World Championships, two gold medals. And that means I won something this year and takes the pressure off a little bit. I can be a little more relaxed.”
    If Svindal skis any more relaxed, he may cross the finish line asleep.
    Svindal, the World Cup points leader entering these worlds, showed why in the second run Wednesday. Fourth after the first run, Svindal constructed a masterpiece his second time down the Olympia course on a set by U.S. coach Mike Morin. His time of 1 minute, 9.97 seconds was bettered only by Canadian John Kucera, and Svindal overtook first-run leader Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland to win with a two-run combined time of 2:19.64. Albrecht, already a gold medalist here in the super combined, held on for second in 2:20.12, while Albrecht’s veteran teammate, Didier Cuche, finished third in 2:20.56.
    Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety of the U.S. finished 0.07 out of the medals in fourth place. Ninth after the first run, Ligety surged to the third-fastest time in his second run but took little consolation in that.
    “I’m happy I skied well but I’m super disappointed that I came in fourth. Especially by seven hundredths, that sucks,” Ligety said. “I made a couple of little mistakes that cost me for sure. It’s bittersweet, for sure.”
    But watching Svindal win, Ligety said, helped wash some of that bitter taste from his mouth.
    “I knew he was going to win it. There was no question in my mind,” said Ligety, after watching Svindal complete his second run and take nearly a full-second lead on Cuche sitting in the hotseat. “He’s skiing awesome right now. It’s good to see him, he’s such a good guy, ski so well and take you down. It’s impressive skiing for sure.”
    The frustrations of Ligety’s teammate, Bode Miller, continued Wednesday. After a solid first run that left him in sixth place and in position for a medals charge, Miller raced a ragged second run and failed to find any rhythm and eventually finished 15th. American Tim Jitloff,  meanwhile, had a breakout performance, finishing 18th after starting 37th in the first run. Jitloff, just 21 and with limited World Cup experience, said he skied with nothing to lose and brought limited expectations into the race. His finish will likely help lift those expectations for the remainder of the World Cup season.
    Jimmy Cochran rounded out the U.S. finishers in 37th, breaking a pole and struggling on the top section and nearly skiing off-course after losing his balance. 
   "We had some good stuff going on out there and we got really close, but we fell a little short," U.S. men's coach Phil McNichol said. "It was a good performance, certainly from Ted — an outstanding second run. Bode had a bunch of mistakes on that second run and you just can't let down at all, you have to be in full-on attack mode, right to the bottom …
    "Timmy Jitloff showed speed and this certainly should give him some confidence in his next World Cup GS [March 3] in Kranjska Gora [Slovenia] … and he just keeps improving his overall World Cup approach. Jimmy had some bad luck on that second run. So, now we regroup and come back at 'em Saturday in slalom."
   Like Ligety and Cochran, Svindal also struggled on the top, but he nailed the flatter section on the bottom of the course in both runs.
    “I knew right after the first run that I could be faster because my first run was good from halfway down, but the top wasn’t good at all,” he said. “So I was actually surprised that I was second when I came in. I wasn’t surprised at all that Albrecht and [Switzerland’s Marc] Berthod could be faster because I knew there was a lot more speed in the course.”
    Svindal’s hope for gold were bolstered when he saw the set for run No. 2. Morin’s set was filled with sharper curves and “I saw right away that it was better for me,” Svindal said. “I like to turn and that’s what I’m good at. It was more turny and I figured if I skied well I’d be fast. And I did.”
    Some notable names didn’t even get a chance at a second run. Austria’s Benni Raich skied out early in the first run, and Italy’s GS specialist Max Blardone also failed to finish. Austria, in fact, had a miserable showing Wednesday. Hermann Maier’s 21st-place result was the best the Power Team could muster. Raich’s bronze in super combined and Fritz Strobl's silver in super G are the lone medals from the Austrian men in Are.
    “I’m more tired than depressed,”  said Maier, the defending Olympic champ in the GS, adding that he won’t enter the team event that concludes the championships Sunday.
    It marked the first time that Maier left the worlds or Olympics without a medal, and it may have been his last major competition.
    Canada’s Francois Bourque can’t be much happier than Maier. Second after a scorching first run, Bourque skied out early in the second, losing his right edge, falling on his le
ft hip and missing a gate. Teammate Jean-Philippe Roy led Canada, tied for seventh place despite having no results on the World Cup this season.
    Atomic skier Albrecht, meanwhile, just missed winning his second gold at these World Championships in what has been a dominant performance by the Swiss team. The Swiss men lead the medal haul with five.
    “Before I start I said, ‘take your chance, go fast,’ and that’s what I did,” Albrecht said. “I thought if [my run] was good I’d be 10th or 15th after the first run but I was first. It was a little bit scary, but I said do the same in the second run and all will be good.
    “Here the important thing is to be first, second or third position, and that’s all that counts.”
     The bronze medal for Cuche is a sweet reward for two years of struggles following a knee injury in 2005. On the World Cup circuit since 1993 and an Olympic silver medalist in super G in 1998, the 32-year-old Cuche said he’s already had a successful World Championships with a pair of top-six finishes in the speed events.
    Cuche, with three top-10 finishes in four World Cup GS races this season, said he knew he had what it took to vie for a medal Wednesday.
    “I think the key was before the second run I said to myself, just once this year you have to make a run like you can do it in the training run,” he said. “I skied so many times really fast in GS. Also, two days ago against [Bode] Miller and Svindal I was a half-second in front of them. That made me really motivated for this race, and the second run was a really good run. I was really proud of it.”
    Cuche’s medal, coupled with 34-year-old Bruno Kernen’s bronze in super G, gives the Swiss veterans two medals at these worlds against the three won by youngsters Albrecht (age 23) and Berthod (23).
    “It’s good to see I can ski fast against all the fresh blood,” Cuche joked.
    The next men's race is the slalom and the championships conclude Sunday with the team event — up to six skiers taking two men's and two women's runs in downhill and two men's and two women's runs in slalom.

— USSA and The Associated Press contributed to this report

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THE SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Men's GS, Are, Sweden, Feb. 14, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Svindal, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2 Albrecht, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3 Cuche, Head/Head/Tyrolia
4 Ligety, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5 Schieppati, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
6 Karlsen, Fischer/Nordica/Fischer
7 Roy, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
7 Palander, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
9 Valencic, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
10 Buechel, Head/Lange/Tyrolia

Men's giant slalom, Are, Sweden, Feb. 14, 2007. … It is the eighth race of the 2007 FIS Alpine World Championships. … Slaloms and the team event remain to be contested. … It is the 43rd World Championship GS.
    It is the second gold medal of the 2007 championships for Aksel Lund Svindal. … The third medal of his career, having earned silver in combined in 2005. … It is his fourth win of the season and second in GS, having won at Hinterstoder Dec. 21. … He currently leads the World Cup GS and overall standings. … He joins Kjetil Andre Aamodt, Stein Eriksen, Lasse Kjus and Atle Skaardal on the Norwegian list of multiple gold-medal winners at World Championships. … Aamodt, Kjus and Eriksen as GS title winners. … Eriksen as GS title winner won at Are (1954).
    It is the second medal of the 2007 World Championships, and of his career, for Daniel Albrecht. … He won gold in combined Feb. 8. … His best career World Cup result is fourth. … Best in GS is 11th at Beaver Creek Dec. 4, 2004. … His best Cup result of the season is fourth in slalom at Beaver Creek. … Best in GS is 16th at Adelboden Jan. 6. … It is the first Swiss GS medal at worlds since Michael von Gruenigen in 2001.
    It is the first World Championships medal for Didier Cuche, though he has been fourth twice before, in DH in 2003 and in SG at Are Feb. 6. … He also won a silver medal in the Nagano Olympics in super G Feb. 16, 1998. … It is the second time at these championships the Swiss men have pushed two skiers into the medals with Albrecht and Marc Berthod winning gold and bronze respectively in combined.
    It is the best career World Championships result for Ted Ligety, though he and his team also placed fourth in the 2005 team event. … He did win the gold in combined at the 2006 Olympics. … The result matches his third-best placing of the season, having previously placed second in slalom at Alta Badia, third in GS at Beaver Creek and fourth in combined at Reiteralm in World Cup action. … It is a career-best World Championships placing for Jean-Philippe Roy, the previous best an eighth in combined at St. Anton in 2001. … He had placed 29th and 30th in 2003 and 1999 World Championship GS's respectively. … He has only one better career World Cup placing, a fifth in GS at Alta Badia Dec. 19, 2004. … It is the second-best career World Championship result for John Kucera after a ninth in combined at Bormio in 2005. … It is his first GS result at worlds. … He has just two career World Cup GS results, a fifth at Alta Badia and 12th at Adelboden, both from earlier this season. … It is the 10th-best result for Bode Miller in a World Championships race. … He won gold in GS in 2003. … It is the first World Championships placing for Tim Jitloff. … He does not own a World Cup scoring result. … It is the 10th World Championship result for Thomas Grandi. … He was fifth in GS in 2005 (career best), eighth in 1997, 25th in 1999. … Fifth is also his best World Cup result of the season, in slalom at Beaver Creek. … It is the second World Championships GS result for Jimmy Cochran. … He was 16th in 2005.
    Winning margin is .48 of a second. … Top four are with a second. … Top 14 within two seconds.

Medal count
AUT 6 (1g, 2s, 3b)
SWE 5 (3g, 1s, 1b)
SUI 5 (1g, 1s, 3b)
USA 3s
NOR 2g
ITA 2 (1g, 1b)
CAN 1s

Are World Championships men's GS results

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Run 1	Run 2	Total Time	FIS Points
1	5	421328	SVINDAL Aksel Lund	1982	NOR	1:09.67	1:09.97	2:19.64	0.00
2	23	510993	ALBRECHT Daniel	1983	SUI	1:09.44	1:10.68	2:20.12	3.02
3	15	510030	CUCHE Didier	1974	SUI	1:09.98	1:10.58	2:20.56	5.80
4	3	534562	LIGETY Ted	1984	USA	1:10.09	1:10.54	2:20.63	6.24
5	14	292250	SCHIEPPATI Alberto	1981	ITA	1:09.91	1:10.81	2:20.72	6.81
6	48	420148	KARLSEN Truls Ove	1975	NOR	1:10.19	1:10.81	2:21.00	8.57
7	31	101895	ROY Jean-Philippe	1979	CAN	1:10.24	1:10.85	2:21.09	9.14
7	6	180251	PALANDER Kalle	1977	FIN	1:10.55	1:10.54	2:21.09	9.14
9	28	560355	VALENCIC Mitja	1978	SLO	1:10.55	1:10.56	2:21.11	9.26
10	16	350032	BUECHEL Marco	1971	LIE	1:10.48	1:10.78	2:21.26	10.21
11	19	510997	BERTHOD Marc	1983	SUI	1:09.54	1:11.82	2:21.36	10.84
12	22	102873	KUCERA John	1984	CAN	1:11.58	1:09.83	2:21.41	11.15
13	8	510727	DEFAGO Didier	1977	SUI	1:10.08	1:11.36	2:21.44	11.34
14	34	501026	RAINER Niklas	1983	SWE	1:10.90	1:10.61	2:21.51	11.78
15	7	532431	MILLER Bode	1977	USA	1:09.92	1:11.73	2:21.65	12.67
16	20	191750	FANARA Thomas	1981	FRA	1:11.05	1:10.68	2:21.73	13.17
17	36	150398	BANK Ondrej	1980	CZE	1:10.88	1:11.12	2:22.00	14.87
18	37	534959	JITLOFF Tim	1985	USA	1:10.98	1:11.25	2:22.23	16.32
19	21	292491	MOELGG Manfred	1982	ITA	1:10.71	1:11.61	2:22.32	16.89
20	40	501017	MYHRER Andre	1983	SWE	1:11.06	1:11.29	2:22.35	17.08
21	12	50423	MAIER Hermann	1972	AUT	1:11.13	1:11.31	2:22.44	17.65
22	13	190677	CHENAL Joel	1973	FRA	1:11.35	1:11.22	2:22.57	18.46
23	18	292455	FILL Peter	1982	ITA	1:11.18	1:11.50	2:22.68	19.16
24	33	180430	RAJALA Jukka	1982	FIN	1:11.25	1:11.50	2:22.75	19.60
25	9	50547	SCHOENFELDER Rainer	1977	AUT	1:11.07	1:11.83	2:22.90	20.54
26	35	560425	VAJDIC Bernard	1980	SLO	1:11.31	&nbs p;1:11.81	2:23.12	21.93
27	10	100115	GRANDI Thomas	1972	CAN	1:12.05	1:11.28	2:23.33	23.25
28	51	301312	SASAKI Akira	1981	JPN	1:11.99	1:11.42	2:23.41	23.76
29	30	191746	DE TESSIERES Gauthier	1981	FRA	1:12.90	1:11.85	2:24.75	32.20
30	45	30149	SIMARI BIRKNER Cristian Javier	1980	ARG	1:12.64	1:13.35	2:25.99	40.02
31	68	480736	HOROSHILOV Alexandr	1984	RUS	1:13.10	1:13.24	2:26.34	42.22
32	39	150421	ZAHROBSKY Petr	1980	CZE	1:12.85	1:13.57	2:26.42	42.73
33	60	491129	TERRA Ferran	1987	SPA	1:13.10	1:13.46	2:26.56	43.61
34	59	480752	KONOVALOV Anton	1985	RUS	1:12.94	1:13.64	2:26.58	43.74
35	67	700037	HEIMSCHILD Ivan	1980	SVK	1:13.28	1:13.41	2:26.69	44.43
36	74	90047	GEORGIEV Stefan	1977	BUL	1:13.48	1:13.36	2:26.84	45.37
37	27	534040	COCHRAN Jimmy	1981	USA	1:11.39	1:15.49	2:26.88	45.63
38	38	180502	KANTOLA Petteri	1986	FIN	1:11.89	1:15.10	2:26.99	46.32
39	58	380292	ZRNCIC-DIM Natko	1986	CRO	1:13.60	1:13.86	2:27.46	49.28
40	71	700724	BABUSIAK Jaroslav	1984	SVK	1:13.51	1:14.03	2:27.54	49.79
41	55	380296	MARINELLI Danko	1987	CRO	1:13.64	1:14.83	2:28.47	55.65
42	50	320139	KANG Min Heuk	1981	KOR	1:14.40	1:14.33	2:28.73	57.28
43	65	490958	CAPDEVILA Guillem	1985	SPA	1:14.53	1:14.30	2:28.83	57.91
44	69	40332	STEVENS Hugh	1986	AUS	1:16.13	1:15.67	2:31.80	76.63
45	75	910002	GRITSCH Sascha	1984	MDA	1:15.93	1:16.74	2:32.67	82.11

Did not finish 1st run:
DIMITRIADIS Vassilis (GRE), SAMSAL Dalibor (CRO), LUBELLAN Peter (SVK), VIDOSA Roger (AND), GRIFFIN Benjamin (NZE), CHAADAYEV Alexey (RUS), FRANZEN Demian (AUS), ROUX Christophe (MDA), GAYME Maui (CHI), IMBODEN Urs (MDA), TREJBAL Filip (CZE), ALBRECHT Kilian (BUL), KRYZL Krystof (CZE), BJOERGVINSSON Bjoergvin (ISL), BAXTER Noel (GBR), SOLBAKKEN Bjarne (NOR), ANDERSSON Oscar (SWE), BYGGMARK Jens (SWE), SANDELL Marcus (FIN), NEUREUTHER Felix (GER), MISSILLIER Steve (FRA), GORZA Ales (SLO), REICHELT Hannes (AUT), BLARDONE Massimiliano (ITA), RAICH Benjamin (AUT)

Did not finish 2nd run:
STEVENS Bryce (AUS), SATS Konstantin (RUS), KEPPLER Stephan (GER), BOURQUE Francois (CAN)

Disqualified 1st run:
GRUBER Christoph (AUT)

Did not qualify for final race:
GUDMUNDSSON Gisli Rafn (ISL), LONGHI Johnatan (BRA), ABRAMASHVILI Iason (GEO), NAN Ioan-Gabriel (ROU), VUKOVIC Zelimir (SRB), TODOROV Dean (BUL), GANGE Scott (NZE), VITANOV Aleksandar (MKD), ALAERTS Kai (BEL), FOLEY Thomas (IRE), BARBU BOGDAN Nicolae (ROU), LANSMANIS Einars (LAT), MAROSI Attila (HUN), KYUNG Sung-Hyun (KOR), RUMIANCEV Vitalij (LTU), DAUGULIS Kaspars (LAT), MITREVSKI Metodija (MKD), RUSYNYAK Myhaylo (UKR), RISTEVSKI Antonio (MKD), SARE Hamit (TUR), OPRJA Deyvid (EST), KOSIC Bojan (MNG), CARDELLI Marino (RSM), DEHARI Dardan (MKD), TRELEVSKI Alexander (KGZ), GUANGXU Li (CHN), JAEGERSEN Alex (DAN), O CONNOR Shane (IRE), BYRNE Peter (IRE), TRELEVSKI Dmitry (KGZ), BORISOV Ivan (KGZ), BIVER Bob (LUX), SIMSEK Emre (TUR), LI Lei (CHN), GIORDANI Gian Luca (RSM), NERSISYAN Arsen (ARM), SARKAKHYAN Abraham (ARM), GRIGARAS Andrius (LTU), ENDRIUKAITIS Tomas (LTU), POGHOSYAN Arsen (ARM), NKRUMAH-ACHEAMPONG Kwame (GHA)

Did not start 1st run in qualification race:
HARUTYUNYAN Arman (ARM), TURKSEVER Erdinc (TUR), BRIDGWATER Mark (NZE)

Did not finish 1st run in qualification race:
BRODERSEN Mathias (DAN), MOESGAARD Frederik (DAN), PAPAMICHALOPOULOS Christopher (CYP), VALENTIN Mathias (DAN), TEDIASHVILI Vakhtang (GEO), VAKHNENKO Igor (UKR), KIKNADZE Nugzar (GEO), ARAMAN Philippe (LIB), SZABO Bence (HUN), SALAMEH Georges (LIB), ACS Tamas (HUN), SPECK Stefano (LUX), RODE Roberts (LAT), VAN BUYNDER Frederik (BEL), MOLLIN Bart (BEL), MILICIC Masan (SRB), DE LA CUESTA Paul (SPA), YUASA Naoki (JPN), GREIG Andrew (NZE), VAN DEN BOGAERT Jeroen (BEL)

Did not finish 2nd run in qualification race:
ZHENG Min (CHN), YESILOVA Erkan (TUR), TRIPODAKIS Pavlos (GRE), INGASON Thorsteinn (ISL), BADURA Slaven (BIH), HENTSCH Nikolai (BRA), KRAUJA Dainis (LAT), ANGUITA Cristian (CHI), MANDRU Jorge (CHI)

Disqualified 1st run in qualification race:
TRELEVSKI Andrey (KGZ), KOSTELIC Ivica (CRO)