Christianson takes wire-to-wire win in Sun Valley GS

Temperatures dropped into the mid-teens Fahrenheit by the time first-run action got underway on Saturday for the men’s giant slalom at U.S. Alpine Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho. A demanding and unrelenting course set in the first run made for exciting racing action with several of the favorites making early exits.

Defending champion Tim Jitloff was looking for a sixth career national GS title, but fell victim to the Greyhawk pitch midway down his first run. Taking advantage of an early start number, Alaska native Kieffer Christianson skied aggressively yet tactically and found himself in the lead after run one with a pair of teammates, Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Brennan Rubie, in hot pursuit.

Temperatures warmed some for the afternoon’s second run as racer after racer couldn’t quite seem to figure out the nuances of such a demanding GS hill. Cochran-Siegle looked to have raised the bar for Christianson after his second run saw him cross the finish with a massive 1.23-second advantage with just the fire-headed Alaskan left to challenge.

However, Christian never looked in doubt as he masterfully picked apart the second run set, holding back where he needed to and taking charge where it was necessary, eventually besting Cochran-Siegle by 0.83 seconds for his maiden national title. Canadian and University of Denver skier Erik Read was able to jump from fifth place after the first run to finish in third, 2.06 seconds off of Christianson’s pace. American Drew Duffy took top junior honors in ninth place.

“I pretty much just adopted not a whole new approach today, but I just was feeling different today,” Christianson explained. “Today, I had a lot of fun warming up and I just went out on the course. It was pretty easy, with no expectations. Second run, I was kind of philosophizing with myself, getting nervous, and I’m like, ‘You’re making these things up, it’s still just a course you have to go ski.'”

“I’ve had pretty much an inconsistent season at all levels,” he added. “It was kind of a lost feeling for a lot of the year. But the last couple of weeks, things started to click and I started to just focus on the work, focus on the skiing. I’ve put my effort into that, and I’ve had more fun and now it’s working out on the results side.”

It was Cochran-Siegle’s second podium of the series, as he also claimed the runner-up spot in Thursday’s super G. The Vermont native looks to be returning to form as his nearly two-year return from injury continues.

“I’m happy with the day,” Cochran-Siegle said. “I’m excited to be on the podium again. I knew that I could throw it in there, but it was a tough field … a lot of guys I knew could throw it in there. I guess I’m just fortunate to be one of those guys. Looking back on the year, I definitely feel like I put a lot of focus on GS. I definitely have a good feeling right now and am excited about that and feel good about my GS.”

For Read, who was also this season’s NorAm overall and slalom champion, ending the year like he has should no doubt pique the attention of the Alpine Canada Alpin administration that decided to drop him from the national team just a year ago.

The men of the U.S. Ski Team will now pack their bags and head to Norway for most of April for vital equipment testing and on-snow time with the Norwegian ski team.

“We’re going to spend I think four weeks in April in Norway and a little bit of May, just training with the Norwegians, getting some speed in, getting some GS, trying to dial in our equipment while we’re still kind of race caliber,” said Cochran-Siegle. “It’s a great opportunity. Usually we just take it off because we are all beat, but I’m actually really excited.”

U.S. Alpine Championships conclude on Sunday with the women’s GS.

Official Results