KITZBUEHEL, Austria (Jan. 20, 2017) – Austria’s Matthias Mayer kicked off ski racing’s Super Bowl weekend and whipped the home-country crowd into a celebratory frenzy with a victory in Friday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G. Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) paced three Americans into the top 20, finishing 11th.
Travis Ganong finished 11th in Friday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super-G in Kitzbuehel, Austria. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alain Grosclaude)
Christof Innerhofer from Italy and Switzerland’s Beat Fuez rounded out the podium in second and third respectively. Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) was 18th; Steve Nyman (Sundance, UT) was 19th. A trio of Americans just missed the top 30 including Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, NY) in 33rd, Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) in 34th and Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City, UT) in 35th.
Friday’s super G served not only as a World Cup race, but a chance for the American’s to grab one more run to prep for Saturday’s main event - the Hahnenkamm Downhill.
“After (Thursday) it was good to get a full run down the course and build a little confidence for (Saturday) and test out the body,” said Ganong, who charged a bit too hard out of the gate in the final downhill training run.
“On a hill like this it’s so hard mentally to be able to push and be confident,” Ganong added. “After (Thursday’s run) I kind of lost some confidence. Before the run (Thursday), I watched Stephan Eberharter’s winning run from 2003 and he absolutely hammered. So I was inspired to try to push as hard as I’ve ever pushed before just to see what would happen and I got a little too excited – skied straight through the first gate. So I think it’s just good to get that run done today and realize that I just need to relax and keep it simple, and not push too hard and just find the flow and go.”
Andrew Weibrecht was 19th in Friday’s super G. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)
Nyman came out of the 51st start position to post his seventh career top-20 World Cup super G finish. He was was also the top finisher in Wednesday’s downhill training run.
“I haven’t had a great year in super G so far,” Nyman said. “Just messing with skis and stuff and I got back on this old ski and it felt really comfortable in training the other day to where it was OK today. Best result of the year in super G for me today and hopefully it qualifies me for World Champs.”
Austria’s Matthias Mayer celebrates his victory in Kitzbuehel on Friday. (Getty Images/AFP-Jure Makovec)
Austria’s Marcel Hirscher was 24th in Friday’s super G and increased his overall World Cup lead to 288 points over Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen. Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, winner of the last three three super G races, was ninth and maintained his overall World Cup super G lead with 329 points over Italy's Dominik Paris (192 points).
Up next, the men race the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill Saturday. Watch it live on NBCSports.com at 5:15 a.m. EST.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Austria’s Matthias Mayer won Friday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G, his fourth career World Cup victory.
- Travis Ganong was the top American in 11th.
- Steve Nyman came out of the 51st start position to finish 19th.
- Road to Aspen: Austria’s Marcel Hirscher was 24th in Friday’s super G and increased his overall World Cup lead to 288 points over Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, who did not race Friday. Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, winner of the last three three super G races, was ninth and maintained his overall World Cup super G lead with 329 points over Italy's Dominik Paris (192 points).
QUOTES
Travis Ganong
The snow was so different that anything we’ve skied on all season. The injection they did last night after they set the course was really rough. I was expecting grippy ice and it was just super slick … and the skis were just going away. The top section I lost a lot of time because I was not expecting the skis to feel like that. Once I got my feet underneath me again, it was pretty good through the middle section and then the bottom was really easy – almost as fast as the downhill actually, pretty fun.
After (Thursday) it was good to get a full run down the course and build a little confidence for (Saturday) and test out the body. Things are feeling decent.
On a hill like this, it’s so hard mentally to be able to push and be confident. After (Thursday’s crash) I kind of lost some confidence. Before the run (Thursday), I watched Stephan Eberharter’s winning run from 2003 and he absolutely hammered. So I was inspired to try to push as hard as I’ve ever pushed before just to see what would happen and I got a little too excited – skied straight through the first gate. So I think it’s just good to get that run done today and realize that I just need to relax and keep it simple, and not push too hard and just find the flow and go.
Andrew Weibrecht
Just struggling a little bit to get used to this different surface. We’ve been on grippier, easier snow all year and this is just kind of a shock to the system.
I don’t feel my best right now. It’s nice to walk away from a crash like that (in training). I was happy to be able to race today and keep it rolling.
The snow is so icy and bumpy that you can never get settled on your skis.
Steve Nyman
The top 30 guys, they get the sun across the Hausberg, and for us the sun was gone. It’s actually nice because you’re not in and out of the light. But you still can’t see as much ... so you have to trust your line and send it.
I made a couple of mistakes up there, especially the top of the Hausberg. I kind of put my hand down and spun a little and that slowed me down.
I haven’t had a great year in super G so far. Just messing with skis and stuff and I got back on this old ski and it felt really comfortable in training the other day to where it was OK today. Best result of the year in super G for me today and hopefully it qualifies me for World Champs.
BROADCAST AND LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
All events streaming at www.nbcsports.com/live
Friday, Jan. 20
2:30 p.m. – Men’s super G, Kitzbuehel – Universal HD
Saturday, Jan. 21
5:15 a.m. – Men’s downhill, Kitzbuehel – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
4:30 p.m. – Men’s downhill, Kitzbuehel – NBCSN
Sunday, Jan. 22
4:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbuehel – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
7:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbuehel – nbcsports.com – LIVE STREAM
4:00 p.m. – Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel – NBCSN
RESULTS
Men’s super G
