Men's Giant Slalom in Soelden 2007

Ski2b 28.10.2007 14:06 Uhr

11:58:

Welcome to the new Alpine Ski World Cup season. This is the men´s first giant slalom of the winter 2007/2008. On Sunday, October the 28th the first run will get started at 9.45 a.m. We are looking forward to welcome you here with our live coverage.



09:25:

Welcome to the first men's World Cup race in Soelden. The temperature is -2 degree Celsius and the slope is optimally groomed.



09:30:

There are some changes this season: the material as well as the skis changed a little. Let's see how the athletes come along with it.



09:32 - Maier, Hermann (AUT):

We are especially looking forward to Hermann Maier, who is the titleholder here. He won the opening race in 2005 as last year's opening event in Sölden was cancelled due to the warm weather.



09:36 - Miller, Bode (USA):

Second place went to Bode Miller - who is no longer with the US Ski Team any more. Let's see how he will perform today.



09:39 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

Today the focus is of course on Benni Raich and Aksel Lund Svindal. Both are able to win here.



09:40:

There are some other strong performing competitors: Kalle Palander, Ted Ligety or Daniel Albrecht might as well win the race.



09:43:

The slope in Soelden is steep and is said to be one of the most difficult ones in the World Cup. The experienced athletes are most of the times more convincing here.



09:44 - Palander, Kalle (FIN):

The race starts soon. Kalle Palander will start first.



09:46:

There is still a forerunner on the course. The race is about to start with a slight delay.



09:48 - Palander, Kalle (FIN):

Palander has started - how will the Finn perform in his first race of the season?



09:49 - Palander, Kalle (FIN):

1:07.92 - that's the first time. Now for Ligety...



09:51 - Ligety, Ted (USA):

and he is stronger at the first part of the course - the American is clearly ahead of the Finn here. But on the way to the finish, he lost half a second - it's still enough for the lead.



09:53 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

Now for Raich. Mistakes at the upper section, too - Ligety was neat there. Raich can't make up time below as well - third place for him.



09:54 - Svindal, Aksel-Lund (NOR):

The next athlete is Svindal, but he is weak at the steep section. He drops far behind....



09:56 - Svindal, Aksel-Lund (NOR):

... and he's angry, is attacking now. Good transition and he makes up some time. He's still on last place so far.



09:58 - Blardone, Massimiliano (ITA):

The Italians are hoping for their 'Max', but he can't follow Ligety at the steep section. Fourth place for Blardone.



09:59 - Bourque, Francois (CAN):

The Canadian already lost 1,5 sec at the upper section, but then makes up some time. Place 6 for him.



10:01 - Cuche, Didier (SUI):

Now for Didier Cuche. He manages the slope well, but still finishes as tailender.



10:02 - Simoncelli, Davide (ITA):

Davide Simoncelli is on the course now. He clearly loses time, last place for him.



10:04 - Albrecht, Daniel (SUI):

He loses more than a second on Ligety at the upper section - that's a whole lot. But he makes up some time below and finishes in 5th place.



10:05 - Mölgg, Manfred (ITA):

Mölgg finishes in 8th place, just behind the Swiss. Now for Bode Miller.



10:07 - Miller, Bode (USA):

If anyone is able to follow Ligety at the steep section, it's maybe him.



10:08 - Miller, Bode (USA):

But Miller has little problems as well. All in all it's just enough for 10th place so far.



10:09 - Kucera, John (CAN):

John Kucera, one of the young Canadians. Does he have to learn the hard way here? At the steep section, he' s already behind with 1,84 seconds...



10:10 - Kucera, John (CAN):

... and in the finish it's already 2,5 seconds.



10:12 - Chenal, Joel (FRA):

Now for the first Frenchman. Joel Chenal delivers a good performance at the steep section. Yes, he can be content! 10th place for him, ahead of Miller.



10:13 - Schieppati, Alberto (ITA):

The next Italian Alberto Schieppatti is perfoming well and finishes in 10th place.



10:15 - Defago, Didier (SUI):

By the way, congratulation to Defago, who just became a father. At the finish he's behind Ligety with 1,5 seconds - that's place 11.



10:18:

The results so far: Ligety is leading. Kalle Palander follows with a lag of 0,2 seconds, then comes Raich.



10:19 - Maier, Hermann (AUT):

Now for Hermann Maier. Too many mistakes at the upper section. All in all a lag of two seconds.



10:20 - Berthod, Marc (SUI):

Marc Berthod isn't not doing any better - 13th place for him.



10:21 - Gruber, Christoph (AUT):

Christoph Gruber with a weak performance! 2,66 sec behind Ligety - will that be enough for the second heat?



10:22 - Scheiber, Mario (AUT):

Now for another Austrian. Mario Scheiber is on a good way - 13th place for him.



10:25 - Matt, Mario (AUT):

Will he make it among the top ten? Matt has lost too much at the final section. 17th place for him - he has to improve in the final to achieve his aim.



10:26 - Fill, Peter (ITA):

Peter Fill delivers a good performance, place 19. That'll be enough for the final.



10:28 - Reichelt, Hannes (AUT):

Now for another athletes out of the ten headed Austrian team: Hannes Reichelt is the slowest one at the finish. That won't be enough!



10:30 - Fanara, Thomas (FRA):

The Frenchman are more convincing here! Thomas Fanara finishes in 13th place. Strong performance, given that the conditions on the track are getting worse.



10:31 - Schönfelder, Rainer (AUT):

Rainer Schönfelder finishes in 15th place.



10:32 - Görgl, Stephan (AUT):

Stephan Görgl with a lag of two seconds, but this should still be enough. Alessandro Roberto in contrast is out, he won't compete.



10:34 - Schlopy, Erik (USA):

Erik Schlopy with a mulled debut. At the finish he's behind Ligety with more than four seconds - that's the last place.



10:38 - Gorza, Ales (SLO):

Ales Gorza has gained some experience by now. Place 22nd for him, followed by Steve Missilier in place 26. That won't be enough for the Frenchman, because five racers will surely underbid this time.



10:39 - Byggmark, Jens (SWE):

Jens Byggmark finished in 26th position.



10:41 - Rieder, Arnold (ITA):

The Italian Rieder drops out, he had a fall at the steep section.



10:42 - Schörghofer, Philipp (AUT):

Now for a promising athlete: Philipp Schörghofer finishes 29th position.



10:44 - Lanzinger, Matthias (AUT):

Matthias Lanzinger is performing way better. Place 20 for him so far. He put down a real great run under this conditions.



10:45 - Sandell, Marcus (FIN):

Marcus Sandell can hope for the final - place 28 for the young Finn.



10:46 - Gufler, Michael (ITA):

Place 29 for Thomas Frey. Michael Gufler finshed in place 33, he won't be in the final.



10:48 - Zamansky, Jake (USA):

Now for two Americans: Zamansky and Jitloff. Place 34 for Zamansky, Jitloff finished in place 38 only. We won't see them again.



10:50 - Neureuther, Felix (GER):

It's now getting really hard to get a place in the final. How will Neureuther do with starting number 55?



10:52 - Roy, Jean-Philippe (CAN):

The Canadian Roy has what it takes to get among the top 30 And he succeeds, place 27 for him. He's cheering.



10:54 - Leino, Jukka (FIN):

Now for the two Finns Jukka Leino and Jukka Rajala. Leino finishes in position 45, Rajala finishes in place 44.



10:56 - Neureuther, Felix (GER):

He's too much behind at the steep section already. But he's doing better below. Place 30 for Neureuther. It's getting close for the German.



10:59 - Dopfer, Fritz (GER):

Now for the 20-year old Fritz Dopfer, who has to compete under difficult conditions. Today, it's his first time at the World Cup.



11:01 - Valencic, Mitja (SLO):

Lucky Neureuther - Mitja Valencic was in time, but mulled the final section. That was close.



11:03 - Simari Birkner, Cristian Javier (ARG):

Simari-Birkner finishes in position 30, three hundreth faster than Neureuther.



11:04 - Dopfer, Fritz (GER):

Now for Dopfer, who finishes in 49th place. The final will be without any German athlete this time.



11:06 - Ligety, Ted (USA):

That was it from the first heat of the men's giant slalom in Soelden. Ted Ligety has the best chance to win. But Palander and Raich are as well strong competitors.



11:07:

We'll be back in time at 12:45h to report on the final. Stay tuned!



12:40:

Welcome back in Soelden! The final starts in a few minutes. Who will be the first winner of the season 2007/2008? Today's winner will be as well the world cup leader for at leas two weeks!



12:43 - Ligety, Ted (USA):

Ted Ligety has the best chances to win- but he won't t take advantage of his low starting number this time.



12:45 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

Raich and Palander belong to the favorites, too. Blardone, Albrecht and Svindal have slight chances only.



12:49:

The time lags behind the first six are very little, so with a good run, it's easy to improve.



12:50 - Larsson, Markus (SWE):

The race has started. Larsson is on the course...



12:51 - Larsson, Markus (SWE):

1:10:06 for him - that are points for the slalom-expert for sure.



12:52 - Sandell, Marcus (FIN):

Marcus Sandell is not able to beat Larsson's time - the Swede remains leading.



12:54 - Byggmark, Jens (SWE):

Now for Larsson's team mate Byggmark. And he puts down a good run, takes advantage of the conditions and gets the lead - with a winning margin of half a second.



12:55 - Roy, Jean-Philippe (CAN):

The Canadian is the first drop-out at today's final. He could have made some points here.



12:56 - Gruber, Christoph (AUT):

Now for Christoph Gruber and he takes over the lead.



12:57 - Simoncelli, Davide (ITA):

Giant slalom expert Davide Simoncelli with problems above again. But he's speeding below and gets the lead.



12:58 - Fill, Peter (ITA):

Now comes his compatriot Peter Fill, he's good at the steep section. And he gets the lead!



12:59 - Gorza, Ales (SLO):

The Slovenian Ales Gorza wanted too much, he drops out.



13:00 - Kucera, John (CAN):

Kucera already loses his little lead at the upper section. He drops out as well.



13:02 - Matt, Mario (AUT):

Mario Matt wants to get among the top ten. But mistakes at the upper section and the lead is gone. Third place for him.



13:03 - Lanzinger, Matthias (AUT):

Now for Lanzinger. He gets the lead. What a surprise!



13:04 - Görgl, Stephan (AUT):

Stephan Görgl can't keep up with that. Place eight for him.



13:05 - Maier, Hermann (AUT):

Title holder Hermann Maier finishes in sixth place only.



13:06 - Miller, Bode (USA):

Now comes Bode Miller with a great run! That's the lead for him!



13:07 - Berthod, Marc (SUI):

Marc Berthod loses almost seven tenth to Miller, in the finish it's even more. Third place for him.



13:09 - Schönfelder, Rainer (AUT):

Schönfelder with a mistake at the upper section. That costs more than a second. He's speeding now but can't compensate it any more. Sixth place for him so far.



13:10 - Scheiber, Mario (AUT):

Mario Scheiber is the next one. He was convincing in the first heat. Only third place for him here.



13:12 - Fanara, Thomas (FRA):

Thomas Fanara has a lead of only two tenth. And he takes his chance! Second place currently!



13:14 - Chenal, Joel (FRA):

Chenal with a big mistake! He loses more than a second.
Place 13 only.



13:16 - Defago, Didier (SUI):

Defago and Chenal had both a lead of only 26 hundreth. Only place 10 for Defago.



13:17 - Schieppati, Alberto (ITA):

Miller is still leading. Schiepatti drops back. Third place, that's not a bad start for the Italian.



13:18 - Cuche, Didier (SUI):

Cuche loses seven tenth on Miller at the upper section already. He finishes in third place.



13:20:

So Miller is still leading - but now for the best ones of the first heat.



13:22 - Mölgg, Manfred (ITA):

Manfred Mölgg is the next one and he likes steep slopes. He barey finishes in second position.



13:23 - Bourque, Francois (CAN):

Francois Bourque with a fast start but he loses his lead, too. Miller remains leading. Tenth place only.



13:24 - Svindal, Aksel-Lund (NOR):

Svindal is good at the upper sectin, he lost only one tenth. That has to be enough for the lead!



13:25 - Svindal, Aksel-Lund (NOR):

And it's enough! Svindal is perfect below, he has the lead now!



13:27 - Albrecht, Daniel (SUI):

Daniel Albrecht in contrast has big problems at the steep section. He drops back to place 19.



13:29 - Blardone, Massimiliano (ITA):

Still four athletes to go. Blardone is the first one. And he drops out. Today there will be no happy-end for Italy.



13:30 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

That won't happen to a Benni Raich, will it? It's getting close...



13:31 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

... and Raich fails - but he secures second place at least.



13:32 - Palander, Kalle (FIN):

Palander is trying hard, but doesn't want to drop out as well. Only place two for him, that wasn't risky enough - that's a podium place for him.



13:34 - Ligety, Ted (USA):

But who will win today? Ligety orSvindal? Ligety is on the course now. He is more cautious than in his first run...



13:36 - Ligety, Ted (USA):

... will it be enough? Second plac for Ligety! Svindal succeeded and wins the opening in Soelden!



13:37:

Second place goes to Ligety, third place to Palander.



13:51:

The men's next competition, a slalom, takes place in Levi, Finland, november 11th. The race starts at 10 h. We will be back to report on it. Until then!