Ligety lays it down in first run at Soelden

SOELDEN, Austria – In the highly anticipated giant slalom battle between Ted Ligety and last season’s title winner Marcel Hirscher, the American fired the opening salvo of the 2015-16 Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season by winning the first run in Soelden by a slim 0.17-second margin over the Austrian.

Hirscher took to the course down the Rettenbach glacier first and skied a smooth and consistent run in 1:12.47. Ligety’s style was less disciplined on the pitch than Hirscher’s but he carried more speed into the lower flat – traditionally regarded as the most critical section of the course – and was able to first make up a 0.16-second deficit to Hirscher before passing his time across the finishing flats.

Alexis Pinturault, another pre-race favorite who’s been on the Soelden podium for the past three years running, finished a surprising 1.48 seconds off Ligety in seventh behind two of his countrymen. Frenchman Thomas Fanara is third and in touch at 0.33 seconds back while teammate Victor Muffat-Jeandet sits fifth at 1.46 seconds out after the first run.

The U.S. Ski Team’s Tim Jitloff is the only other North American athlete who qualified for the second run. He’s just shy of three seconds behind Ligety in 18th. Starting with bib 62, Italian Manfred Moelgg blasted into 17th place with the biggest move in the first run. Second run is set to start at 12:45 p.m. local time.

Unofficial Results