Levi slalom course a real pain for Ligety

LEVI, Finland — Ted Ligety didn't make any excuses for his 54th-place finish in Sunday's opening slalom race of the World Cup season, despite the fact the Olympic combined gold medalist was competing with a broken hand.

LEVI, Finland — Ted Ligety didn't make any excuses for his 54th-place finish in Sunday's opening slalom race of the World Cup season, despite the fact the Olympic combined gold medalist was competing with a broken hand.
    "There’s no reason to screw it up like I did," he said after the race.
    After a practice session on Friday, Ligety reflected on the manner in which he became injured — his hand hit the base of a GS gate — by laughing and saying, “No, [my hand’s] not supposed to be there. It gets there sometimes, but it’s not supposed to."   
    Ligety was still wearing a brace in Sunday's race despite having previously expressed his hope of being able to race without it. “It doesn’t feel that good to hit gates with my right hand,” he admitted in the finish area. “It’s pretty icy, but it’s a good course and it’s a good hill."
    Bode Miller descended the Levi Black course in bib No. 16, 13 racers after Ligety raced. Crowd anticipation was clearly high as many fans chanted “Bode! Bode!" as the 10-year World Cup veteran entered the start house. Claiming cold feet, literally, after the race, Miller left the finish area without talking to reporters after failing to qualify for the second run.
    Jimmy Cochran echoed teammate Lindsey Kildow’s statements on Saturday that conditions had become much icier between inspection and race time. Cochran said after his first run that the course was “really slick. I was surprised.” He went on to say that, given Levi was the season’s first race, he had felt "a little jittery" up top and hoped to be “more aggressive" in his second run. In executing this plan, Cochran moved up an impressive 13 places to lead the U.S. contingent in 15th place.
    “The pitch felt great,” Cochran said. “Up top I was more aggressive, but I probably wasn’t that much faster.
    “I’m lucky. … I think we’re all a little sluggish today. Bode and Ted and Rotty [Tom Rothrock] — they all look like they got off the plane two days ago, which they did. It’s tough with the jet lag.”
    When asked how the rest of his teammates felt about their performances, Cochran responded, “You know, I think they’re taking it with a smile.”
    Both Cochran and Rothrock said that they were looking forward to training next week in Colorado in preparation for the North American races.
    “I had one mistake up top. You can’t have any mistakes on this hill,” Rothrock said of his performance.
    His plan: “Get ready for Beaver Creek!”