By Hank McKee

There was no denying Ivica Kostelic.

After losing all of his first run advantage early on a sun ravaged Mannlichen race course at Wengen Switzerland, he turned on the afterburners and churned his way through snow the consistency of room temperature butter to claim his fourth win in the last seven races.

First run leader Marcel Hirscher gave it a gallant effort but slipped and could not match the Croat through the bottom third of the course and fell back to second a distant .93 off the pace. Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Grange was third .99 back. “I risked everything,” Hirscher said, “gave everything.” But the error likely cost him the win.

Kostelic took his share of risk as well. “I greatly attacked the middle and lower part of the track in the second run,” he said. “You know, not many are comfortable in these conditions, but I always love it. I have always been excellent skiing on soft snow.”

In fourth was Canadian Michael Janyk with his best finish since 2006.

“My goal was getting into the top 10 and everything else was a bonus,” Janyk said. “In the first run I didn’t get the snap I get when I’m skiing well.(on the second run) Right on the second gate I felt it. Then I knew I was going to be able to put it on the line. … Last week fifth, this week fourth. Just three places to go.”

The Canadians also had Brad Spence in 13th and Julien Cousineau in 17th, the third time this season the team has had three or more scoring in a World Cup slalom.

The Americans ran into immediate trouble with the soft conditions and lost Ted Ligety and Bode Miller to the course in the first run. David Chodounsky got a second run and moved up to finish 19th for the second Cup score of his career and second in the last three slalom races having placed 20th at Zagreb Jan. 6.

Chodounsky said a mistake on the steeper pitch damaged his chances, “but I thought I skied well on the bottom.”

“I’m just starting to get into the rhythm of things here,” he said. “Scoring at Zagreb a couple of weeks ago. … the nervousness goes away a little bit.”

He’s in a battle with teammates to make the World Championship team for Garmisch in February, but said a bigger goal was consistency on the World Cup. “I want to keep getting better and better in the World Cup and make the top 30. It’s realistic.” More realistic now than it was yesterday.

The day belonged to Kostelic as he tamed the slop and the best slalom skiers the World Cup has to offer. Grange, Hirscher and Andre Myhrer – previous winners this season – were all in the hunt, clustered among the top five of the first run finish order. Myhrer wound up well back in the pack finishing 22nd.

Kostelic gained 100 points on Aksel Lund Svindal (who did not qualify for a second run) in
the battle for the World Cup overall title and now leads 726-511. He
said he had already “turned off the World Cup (title) in my mind. I have
to concentrate on every race.”

With half of the season’s slaloms now completed, Kostelic has quickly emerged as the man to beat. With two more slaloms set this month (Kitzbuehel Jan. 23 and Schladming Jan. 25) he could ride a hot streak into a rout.

Gepa photo.

The SCOOP

Equipment
Men’s World Cup Slalom, Wengen, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2011
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Kostelic, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
2 Hirscher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3 Grange, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4 Janyk, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5 Matt, Blizzard/Tecnica/Marker
5 Raich, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Moelgg, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
8 Deville, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
9 Neureuther, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Hargin, Nordica/Nordica//

Men’s World Cup slalom, Wengen, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2011. … It is the third and final race of the 81st Lauberhorn. … It is the 20th race of the men’s 39 race 2011 World Cup schedule. … The 18th held. … It is the fifth of 10 scheduled slaloms and the third of five in the month of January. … It is the 92nd World Cup to be held at Wengen and the 32nd Cup slalom. … Phil Mahre is the only American to win a World Cup slalom at Wengen (’82). … Buddy Werner was second in slalom and second in downhill pre-dating the World Cup in 1958 to win the combined title.

It is the 15th career World Cup win for Kostelic. … his fourth of the season and second in three days at Wengen. … It is his 11th career slalom win and second of the season. … He is the first man to win two slaloms this season having also claimed Adelboden Jan. 9. … It is his fourth career win at Wengen.

It is the 13th career World Cup podium for Marcel Hirscher. … his seventh in slalom. … It is his fourth podium of the season and third in slalom. … He was also second to Kostelic at Adelboden. … It is his first podium at Wengen.

It is the 15th career World Cup podium for Jean-Baptiste Grange, 12th in slalom. … It is his third podium at Wengen having won the slalom and combined in 2008. … It is his second podium of the season having won Levi Nov. 14.

Michael Janyk ties his second best career World Cup mark, his only better finish a 2nd at Beaver Creek in slalom Dec. 3, 2006. … It is the third time he has placed fourth in a World Cup slalom, the previous two at Shigakogen in 2006 and Garmisch 2007. … He has two scoring results this season, both top five placings, the other a fifth at Adelboden. … Brad Spence matches his second best career score as well with his third score of the season. … Julien Cousineau scores his 11th best career result as he scores for the third time this season. … It is the third time this season Canadian men have had three or more scorers in a World Cup slalom. … It is the second career scoring result and a career best by one placing for David Chodounsky, the previous coming 10 days earlier at Zagreb.

Kostelic expands his lead in the World Cup overall standings to 726-511 over Aksel Lund Svindal (did not qualify for 2nd run). … Silvan Zurbriggen (21st in race) is third with 469pts. … Ted Ligety (1st run DNF) is the top American overall in ninth with 408pts. … Manuel Osborne-Paradis (did not race) is the top Canadian in 34th with 124pts. … Kostelic leads the slalom standings 353-276 over Hirscher. … Andre Myhrer (22nd in race) is third with 213. … Janyk is the top North Americans in slalom ranked 13th with 95pts. … Ligety the top U.S. skier in 24th with 53pts. … Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup 3038-1934 over Switzerland. … France is third with 1451pts. … The U.S. is seventh with 805 and Canada ninth with 717pts.