Kitzbuehel, Austria – World Cup overall leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia earned the first speed victory of his career with his fifth World Cup win in January, further extending his lead on the ski racing circuit. Americans Bode Miller and Ted Ligety finished 10th and 22nd, respectively.nKostelic, traditionally considered a slalom specialist, strengthened his position at the top of the overall standings by finishing in 1:17.33, ahead of Georg Streitberger, of Austria (1:17.56), and Norway’s Aksel-Lund Svindal (1:17.61).
“Kitzbuehel super G, always an exciting race,” said U.S. Ski Team Men’s Head Coach, Sasha Rearick. “There was some fantastic skiing by guys in the field. Kostelic showed another level of skiing today which was pretty impressive from top to bottom.
“Bode showed us the inspirational skiing that he can do and I’m so excited and so proud of him to pull that out here,” Rearick added. “He did make some tough turns today but at the same time he was throwing down from top to bottom every turn. I’m especially stoked about what he did at the bottom form the Hausberg down. It was dark when he ran and he stuck his nose in there and stuck to plan and showed us that he wants to go fast.”
Miller, of Franconia, N.H., nonetheless acknowledged that he could have skied better on Friday, especially on the upper part of the course.
“I made some pretty big mistakes up top and definitely could have skied that better, but I charged the bottom, basically tucking the whole thing,” Miller said. “If I had one more run on that, I know where I could make up at least .80, but unfortunately you can’t do that in super G.”
Friday’s super G marked the opening of the Hahnenkamm Weekend in Kitzbuehel, and serves as a prelude to Saturday’s downhill. Already one of the touchest on the World Cup circuit, this season warm air, rain and a night of snow has molded the Streif into a twisting washboard of ice.
“It’s a lot of fun for guys like me because you have to turn a lot,” said Ligety, of Park City, Utah. “Unfortunately, today I didn’t do so great on the turns, but it was still a lot of fun to get out on this track. It tests your will power, so I was happy with that but not so happy with the result.”
Friday also marked the return to ski racing for Canada’s Erik Guay. The 29-year-old, of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, who hasn’t competed since December due to a troublesome back, tied for 11th with Italy’s Christof Innerhofer.
“It’s not a bad return, I would say,” said Guay, who won the Crystal Globe last season as the overall World Cup super G champion. “Certain sections were better than others and I had a hard time finding my rhythm. But I got some points and that’s all that counts.”
Guay admits he held back just a little at the start of his run on the notoriously demanding course.
“I was pretty tentative at the top but I can chalk that up to the situation I am in,” said Guay, who added his back was “a little bit tight” after the race but he still plans to start Saturday’s downhill. “Realistically I’m just looking to get back into the blocks.
“My back is getting better every day. This is really a rebuilding process for Garmisch,” Guay said of next month’s world championships in Germany.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Kitzbuehel, Austria – Jan. 21, 2011
Super G
1. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 1:17.33
2. Georg Streitberger, Austria, 1:17.56
3. Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway, 1:17.61