WC Rewind: The Italian men rise, and more from Aspen

From the U.S. perspective, the weather problems and decisions related to Aspen detracted from the results of the fifth week of World Cup racing. We’ll get to that later.
    Changes in the standings are normal at this time of season. We’re a shade under a quarter of the way through the season and things are still shaking out. Benjamin Raich got back to the top of the overall standings as his consistency got supplemented with his first win of the season in the Bad Kleinkirchheim slalom. … But take Raich’s results at Bad Kleinkirchheim out of the equation (he was also fourth in the GS) and the placings for the Austrian men aren’t as impressive as they normally have been.
FROM THE U.S. perspective, the weather problems and decisions related to Aspen detracted from the results of the fifth week of World Cup racing. We’ll get to that later.
    Changes in the standings are normal at this time of season. We’re a shade under a quarter of the way through the season and things are still shaking out. Benjamin Raich got back to the top of the overall standings as his consistency got supplemented with his first win of the season in the Bad Kleinkirchheim slalom. He told Reuters the first course was icy, and the second choppy. Which means his experience paid off. It was his 30th career win, and that means he breathes pretty rarified air.
    But take Raich’s results at Bad Kleinkirchheim out of the equation (he was also fourth in the GS) and the placings for the Austrian men aren’t as impressive as they normally have been. A sixth from Reinfried Herbst in slalom, and eighth from Stephan Goergl in GS and a ninth from Manfred Pranger in slalom wrap up all of the top 10s for the weekend. Mind you the Austrians still lead the Nations Cup by a big margin 1,894-1,198 over Switzerland, but some of the world is — perhaps — starting to catch these guys.
    The Italian results, for example, looked like Austrian results used to. First and second in the GS with Massimiliano Blardone and Manfred Moelgg in the top spots respectively, and 3-4-5 in the slalom with Moelgg, Patrick Thaler (due to the fastest second run) and Cristian Deville claiming the spots. That’s pretty impressive. Moelgg at 26 is the youngest of this particular group. Thaler is 30 so it’s not so much a youth movement. The timing appears good with Val Gardena and Alta Badia, both Italian sites, on the docket for the coming weekend.
    The U.S., with so much promise at Beaver Creek, got two results, both in GS: Ted Ligety in third and Bode Miller in seventh. Fact is, you add up the top-10 finishes, and Austria still had as many bodies in the mix as anyone with five (GS and SL), and more than anyone but the Italians.
    It’s no doubt true the conditions at Aspen for the women’s downhill were less than perfect. They certainly didn’t resemble any of the training runs. The race was held in two sections, those who skied before the Alexandra Meissnitzer crash and those who skied after her.
    Alexandra Meissnitzer, in bib 13, went down and it took some long minutes to get her off the course while snow continued to fall. From that time on very few skiers had the skills to overtake those who had gone before.
    There were four skiers who raced after the Meissnitzer crash who made it into the top 10. Not coincidentally, they were all skiers who have displayed superior abilities in other races. Renate Goetschl, the most storied downhiller on the women’s circuit today, skied from 21 to 3. Lindsey Vonn from 17 to 4. Martina Schild from 23 to 5 and Elisabeth Goergl skied from 15th to 9th. Further down the order two front page skiers who raced after Meissnitzer did well to improve on their bib numbers; Julia Mancuso skied from 18th to 16th and Ingrid Jacquemod from 16th to 17th. Eleven of the 12 skiers who started before Meissnitzer finished ahead of Mancuso.
    So, basically, although the race wasn’t all that fair, the inordinately skilled made their way into the top half of the finish order anyway. But it was not a day to make an impact from the back of the pack, and 19-year-old Anne-Sophie Barthet of France paid the price for trying with a viciously ravaged knee. It made what should have been a joyous day for Canadian race winner Britt Janyk one of sadness instead.
    The real shame was the Aspen course had run so well in training, been such a nice test of high level downhill racing, been exactly the sort of course the women had been asking for. Then a snowstorm changed it into a dangerous track.
    The slalom, also held after the storm and featuring the same dangers soft snow presents, served to tighten up the standings. Marlies Schild, winner of nine of the last 11 women’s slaloms coming in, exited the second course and teammate Nicole Hosp put on an astounding display of prowess to claim the win over Finn Tanja Poutiainen. Hosp won last year’s overall title by winning the final slalom and GS of the season to overtake Schild. She’s gotten an early start this year, one she’ll hope to expand upon in the races coming up at St. Moritz, rescheduled from Val d’Isere.