SÖLDEN

Last weekend, the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup opener was held on Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, Austria. A lot of firsts happened during this race, including the Park City local, Ted Ligety, placing 10th in a race that he had won for the past three years.

Ligety pulled into the finish after his first run in second place, with a .40 second lead over Alexis Pinturault. In his second run, he made a mistake on the pitch before the flats and lost those crucial milliseconds, giving him a 2:31.11 to end the day in 10th. Alexis Pinturault finished third with a 2:30.15, Fritz Dopfer grabbed the silver with a 2:29.67, and Marcel Hirscher topped the podium with a 2:28.09. (Result times courtesy of FIS.)

Hirscher shredding this weekend in Sölden.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo

The women also had an interesting race. Mikaela Shiffrin, a 19 year old prodigy US skier, took the lead after the first run with a .09 second lead over Anna Fenninger. After the second run, Mikaela came through with her first Giant Slalom victory with a 2:39.85. Co-victory, that is. Fenninger clocked in the exact same time as Shiffrin, stepping up on top with the teen. Fellow Austrian teammate Eva-Maria Brem took the bronze with a 20:30.10. (Result times courtesy of FIS.)

Although the tie did upset me, I was so happy about this race. Mikaela is a phenomenal skier and I'm so excited to see where she goes from here. The fact that she is winning world cups at 19 years old is crazy!

Stay tuned for the opening World Cup Slalom race! Coming up this November in Finland.

Women's podium this weekend in Sölden.
Photo courtesy of http://www.longines.com