Sölden, Austria – Americans continued their roaring start to the 2011-12 World Cup ski racing season on Sunday as Park City, Utah’s Ted Ligety won the first men’s event of the winter, a giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier above Sölden, Austria, a day after Lindsey Vonn did the same for the women.

Ligety built on a first run lead of 0.18 seconds by blazing through his second run to finish 0.29 seconds ahead of Alexis Pinturault of France for his first win ever at Sölden’s traditional season opener to make it clear to all that he intends to defend his World Cup GS title from last season. Austria’s Philipp Schoerghofer rounded out the podium in third place, nearly a full second off Ligety’s pace.

“Any race win is a good win. I don’t really care where it is. I’ve been on the podium a bunch of times here, but it’s always good for your confidence to start off the year with a victory,” said Ligety, who has stood on the Sölden podium three times in the past three World Cup stops to be completed at the Austrian village recently named the U.S. training base in Europe, but never on the top spot. Last year’s event was canceled after the first run with Ligety in second. “You never really know what’s going to happen. I was skiing fast in training, but that really doesn’t count for anything until you actually do it in a race. So to finally get prove how fast you are skiing is an added bonus that goes along with winning the first race of the year.”

Franconia, N.H.’s Bode Miller finished in ninth, marking the second time in as many days that the U.S. Ski Team placed two World Cup racers in the top 10.

“Bode was frustrated with his first run of skiing, he didn’t ski very well on the pitch, but the second run I was really inspired by the 10 or so turns he linked up on the pitch,” said U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick. “He was putting the ski on edge clean and keeping it in the fall line, it was awesome to watch. A great effort by him today.”

American Warner Nickerson, of Guilford, N.H., completed his first run just outside the second-run cutoff in 32nd along with Reno, Nev.’s Tim Jitloff, in 35th, and Thomas Biesemeyer, of Keene, N.H., in 65th. In giant slalom, only the top 30 finishers in the first run advance to the second run. Neither Tommy Ford, of Bend, Ore., nor Lake Stevens, Wash.’s Colby Grandstrom finished the first run.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, the defending overall World Cup champion, signaled that he will again make a run for the Crystal Globe this season with a fifth place result on Friday, just behind Switzerland’s Carlo Janka.

Ste.-Flavie, Quebec’s veteran ski racer Jean-Philippe Roy, the only one of three Canadian starters to qualify for the second run by finishing his first run in 30th place, scored the second fastest second run to jump to 22nd place at the finish.

“The snow was OK on the first run but it was hard. I got tired pretty quick but I just kept on fighting and fighting,” said Roy, who sat out part of last season due to a knee injury. “I didn’t think the result would be that good but then I was 30^th and made the (second run). I think that’s the fourth time I’ve been 30^th here! In the second run I just tried to ski solid and move forward.”

Roy’s teammate, Robbie Dixon, of Whistler, British Columbia, failed to finish the first run. The only other Canadian starter, Dustin Cook, of Lac Sainte Marie, Quebec, finished 57th and didn’t qualify for a second run.

“It was rough on the first run but I think the snow is prepared really well here. It was actually really good conditions for where they started,” said Paul Kristofic, head coach of the Canadian men’s team. “The race was incredibly tight – it was really challenging to qualify. I think only five guys outside of the (first) 30 qualified but JP (Roy) did an amazing job on the first run.”

The U.S. Ski Team now heads for training in Colorado, including the opening of the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain and the First Tracks Alpine Team Announcement presented by Nature Valley at Vail Saturday, Nov. 5.

Official Results
FIS World Cup
Men’s Giant Slalom – Sölden, Austria
October 23, 2011