Tommy Ford and River Radamus Gear Up for Sölden GS Opener

Tommy Ford and River Radamus Sölden press conference, GEPA pictures

The Stifel US Men’s Alpine Ski Team is poised and ready to take on the first Giant Slalom race of the season this Sunday in Sölden, Austria. Team members Tommy Ford and River Radamus have trained diligently during the off-season and are ready to showcase their skills on the challenging Rettenbach Glacier. With new coaching, solid pre-race training, and extensive experience, the American duo aims for a strong start in the 2024-25 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season.

Ford’s impressive career

Tommy Ford, the Bend, Oregon native, carved his name into the history books in the 2020 season with a spectacular Giant Slalom victory at Birds of Prey, Beaver Creek. In addition to his consistency on the World Cup tour, Ford has represented Team USA at three Winter Olympics (2010, 2018, and 2022).

Ready for Sölden

The 35-year-old USA team veteran expressed excitement ahead of the new season. He feels well prepared after several good training days on the Rettenbach Glacier. He has carefully studied the changes in the Giant Slalom course and understands its new layout and nuances. “The conditions are pretty nice right now. It’s changed shape since I started racing.” He described a flat start with a “fairly mellow” slope to the first breakover. “The next major breakover that you come to, you can see the finishes that’s really mellowed out. It used to be a significant drop, and it was steep basically until the middle of the pitch, [maintaining] the same steepness for 10 to 15 gates. So now it’s a more gradual break and steep, but then it gets even steeper midway. So that’s tricky. It is just new terrain, in a way.”

New coaching staff having a positive impact on Ford

Ford is also taking positive cues from the new coaching staff this year. “I’ve been on the team for about 15 years, and early on, we had a French coach but not since then. So, it’s cool to have [Head Coach] Fabien Munier and Coach Claude Crétier on board. It’s been really good working with them. They set really clear intentions for the training days and keep us all kind of on the same trajectory, even though we have individual needs, and it’s been nice—everyone’s taken care of in their individual ways.”

River Radamus is surging into the new season

River Radamus, a 26-year-old skier from Edwards, Colorado, and a decade-long team veteran has enjoyed a remarkable career. Competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics, he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the Giant Slalom. He came back at the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel/Méribel, winning gold in the team parallel. He capped off his impressive 2023-24 season by scoring his first-ever World Cup podium, finishing third in the Giant Slalom at the Tahoe/Palisades Cup finale.

Rebuilding and creating momentum

Radamus will start this season on a high note, thanks to his best career finish with a 3rd place at Palisades/Tahoe. However, he downplayed the idea of carrying momentum from that race into this season. “I think I’m constantly trying to build, but I don’t know that there is any momentum necessarily from season to season. You sort of try to reset and continue to build on the theme, but I got to create my own momentum this year, and hopefully, I’ll continue to progress the results, but I’m excited to see what comes.”

Radamus’s approach to Sölden

“I feel like I’m in good shape right now. I’ve tried to approach every race the same and go out there and see what’s possible. But the nice thing about Sölden is it’s so removed from the rest of the season [so that] hopefully I’ll come home with a good result, but if I don’t, I can reassess and make sure that I’m prepared for the rest of the season.”

Looking forward to the season

Radamus outlined his race plan for the season and highlighted his key focus areas. “I want to challenge myself in all the events, and I think the more races, the better, frankly, just because it sort of gets me into a rhythm throughout the season.” He continued, “Yeah, I’ll be doing Giant Slalom, of course, as long as everything goes well and do most of the slaloms or as many as my schedule allows.” He also indicated not limiting himself to the technical events but jumping into the speed events: “I might try to find the advantageous super Gs and eventually a couple of downhills [during the season], but I don’t know—that’s up to my coaches.”

Ford and Radamus are ready to tackle the first Giant Slalom races of the season this Sunday in Sölden, Austria. They are eager to capitalize on new coaching, solid pre-race training, and the experience of a veteran to make a strong start in the 2024-25 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season.