Some times the easiest things are the hardest to do. With a chance to win his fourth straight World Cup GS at Adelboden Switzerland today (Jan. 8), and with a 1.46 second lead in the start house for the second run Ted Ligety hiccupped, and Aksel Lund Svindal and Cyprien Richard became the dual winners.

Ligety had won the first run over Swiss favorite Carlo Janka. Three time Adelboden winner Benjamin Raich was in third and Thomas Fanara fourth all within a half second. It looked – on paper – like a shoot out was brewing. But it never materialized. On course things looked a bit different. It was warm (eight degrees above freezing) and sunny. The course got beat-up. It’s the way the sport goes.

“They did a great job on the hill,” said U.S. coach Mike Day, “but it’s about 40 degrees and has been for three days straight so we’ve got Spring conditions. They sprayed water and chemicals on the hill this morning and did an amazing job. It was a fair race.”

Richard blazed his second run, having started it 1.46 seconds out from the 21st position, the tenth man to test the second course. None would match his second run time. Svindal, with an eight tenths advantage from the first run matched the two run total.

And then – one by one – the contenders fell to the wayside. The front runners had their work cut out for them. Fanara had the 21st fastest second run and finished third. Raich had the 22nd fastest second run to finish fourth. Janka wound up 13th. And poor Ligety, 28th, 3.65seconds out.

He fell to his hip high on the course, got up and continued, then had another big mistake further down the run. It was, Day said, “a bit of a bummer.”

It was the 14th career win for Svindal. His fourth in GS. It was the first career win for GS specialist Richard. It was what might have been for Ligety. He was in line to join a very select group of skiers who have won four straight GS’s: Alberto Tomba, Ingemar Stenmark and Jean-Claude Killy. He’ll have to start that streak again from scratch.

Instead France collected its first men’s GS victory since  December 2001 and Norway its first Cup win of the season.

Bode Miller, starting 31st, had more trouble with the first course than the second and wound up 22nd. 
He was one of two skiers from outside the top 30 on the start list to make it through to the second run. He was the only other North American finisher.

inside Svindal photo by Gepa
Front page Richard photo by Zoom

The SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Men’s GS, Adelboden, Switzerland, Jan. 8, 2011
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Richard, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
1 Svindal, Head/Head/Head
3 Fanara, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
4 Raich, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Kostelic, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
6 Jansrud, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Berthod, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Schoerghofer, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 DeTessieres, Head/Head/Head
10 Blardone, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

Men’s World Cup Giant Slalom, Adelboden, Switzerland, Jan. 8, 2011. … It is the 14th race held of 16 scheduled to date on the 29 race men’s 2011 World Cup schedule. … It is the fifth of eight scheduled GS’s and the last until February 6. … It is the 48th Cup race at Adelboden and the 40th GS. … GS’s have been held at the site since the first season of the World Cup in 1967. … No American has ever won an Adelboden Cup GS. … Ingemar Stenmark won the race five times between 1979-84. …  Gustavo Thoeni, Pirmiin Zurbriggen, Hermann Maier, and most recently Benjamin Raich have won it three times each.

It is the first career World Cup win for Cyprien Richard. … He was also second at Alta Badia earlier this season making up half of his four career podium finishes. … It is the 14th career World Cup win for Aksel Lund Svindal, and first since Dec. 18, 2009 when he won a super G at Val Gardena. … He has four GS wins, the last coming at Soelden to kick off the 2007-08 season.

It is the second career World Cup podium for Thomas Fanara, the other also a third at Alta Badia earlier this season.

It is the 216th World Cup top 30 finish for Bode Miller. … his ninth of the season. … It is the first GS of the season Ted Ligety has not won.

Aksel Svindal leads the World Cup overall standings 435-409 over Michael Walchhofer (did not race). … Ivica Kostelic (5th in race) is third with 404pts. … Silvan Zurbriggen (did not race) is fourth at 395 and Ted Ligety fifth with 379pts. … Manuel Osborne-Paradis is the top Canadian overall in 31st with 116pts. … Ligety maintains the lead of the GS standings 303-265 over Svindal. … Richard is third with 242pts. … Jean-Philppe Roy in top Canadian in the GS ranks in 32nd with 14pts. … Austria leads the men’s Nations Cup standings 2324-1551 over Switzerland. … France is third with 1262. … The U.S. is sixth with 675pts and Canada eighth with 534pts.