ALPINE:

American Kasper earns 1st career podium in Slovenia slalom

March 6, 2011 

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia ― Mario Matt of Austria won his second straight World Cup slalom race on Sunday while the two favourites for the discipline title, Ivica Kostelic and Jean-Baptiste Grange, were disqualified for straddling a gate.

Matt, who was fifth after the opening run, finished the Podkoren course in a combined time of 1 minute, 49.19 seconds for his 12th career victory. The Austrian also won in Bansko, Bulgaria, last week.

Axel Baeck of Sweden and Nolan Kasper of the United States, who had the fastest second-run time, both earned their first career podium finish as they shared second place, 0.09 behind Matt.

Canada’s Julien Cousineau was 15th and Trevor White 21st.

"I had the self-belief to fully attack. My material is perfect, that makes ski racing a pleasure for me," said Matt, who struggled with his equipment for the first part of the season.

The 31-year-old Austrian, who is a two-time world champion, became so frustrated that he even considered quitting ski racing.

"It was in my mind as nothing worked in December," Matt said. "I had high (start) numbers in the Europa Cup, numbers over 50. Of course I was thinking about (quitting) but I was still fast in training. So I thought, I can still do it with the right setup."

Matt got new ski boots by the end of December. Since then, the tide has turned.

"In Adelboden and Wengen, I had the fastest second runs so I made some good points there," he said. "Being at the start and knowing that everything is OK, that's just a great feeling."

With both Kostelic and Grange failing to score points, the slalom title will be decided at the season-ending race in two weeks. The Croatian leads the Frenchman by 36 points, while Andre Myhrer of Sweden is also in with a slim chance as he trails Kostelic by 95 points.

Grange initially completed his first run and finished 0.52 off the lead but later admitted the mistake.

"I don't know yet what the consequences of my mistake are," said Grange, referring to the finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. "I am not focussing on Ivica. He's a great slalom skier but I have to concentrate on my own performance."

Kostelic, who was 11th after the opening run, could have secured the crystal globe by finishing in the top two. He failed to finish for a second straight race as he also went out in the opening run at Bansko a week ago.

Kasper had a blistering second run to become the first American on a men's World Cup slalom podium since Bode Miller in November 2008 in Levi, Finland.

"I had two really good runs," said Kasper. "(Matt) is one of the best guys in the world ... so I am not disappointed at all. It's more than I could hope for that I can compete at this level with these guys."

Two months ago, Kasper was struggling with confidence as he had failed to finish a race until then. He was relegated to the lower-ranked Europa Cup circuit, where good results kick-started his season.

"I think it's a mental aspect," he said. "I had been doing well in training but struggling in the races. So I took some time off ... and finally found the right gear in the races."

Kasper has now qualified for the season-ending slalom, where only the top 25 racers take part.

"My hope today was to ski well enough to make it to the World Cup final," he said. "Obviously I am skiing well and I don't want the season to end right now. To come out and ski that fast is a lot of fun."

A total of seven racers — including Ted Ligety, who finished third in Saturday's GS — failed to finish their second run. Most skied out while coming off the difficult first steep section of the course.

Thirty skiers did not finish the first run, including Canadians Michael Janyk, Brad Spence and Patrick Biggs.

Sunday's results mean Janyk and Cousineau are 15th and 20th, respectively, in the overall World Cup slalom standings. Both men will compete at the World Cup Finals at Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in a few weeks — an event that features the top 25 in the world in several different disciplines. However, there was heartbreak for Spence, who started the day 24th in the standings but was bumped down to 26th after Sunday's results.

"It was tough today. With slalom, it can be such a thin line," said Janyk, who has been skiing extremely well this season and been agonizingly close to the podium on several occasions. "I had some confidence from my last race and I knew what I needed to do, but it's a fine line."

Cousineau finished with a combined time of 1:51.14. Calgary's White was 21st Sunday with a combined time of 1:52.09. He, too, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup Finals after finishing the day tied for 27th in the overall slalom standings. Stutz didn't finish his second run.

"We're disappointed. We expected more from these guys today," said Paul Kristofic, Canada's head coach. "I don't think Cousineau had a good feeling for the hill today. Mike straddled and Brad straddled as well. Brad had been having a reasonable run but a lot of times, when you ski a little bit defensively, it's easy to make mistakes."

Spence will now compete at the Northwest Funds Nor-Am Cup finals in Whistler in mid-March before heading to the GMC Canadian Championships at Nakiska, Alta., at the end of the month.

"It was a pretty disappointing day, for sure," said Spence, who finished the day just 12 points behind the USA's Ted Ligety, who is ranked 25th in the overall slalom standings. "I'm battling a little bit of a cold. The energy levels weren't where they needed to be and to put a demanding course on top of that ...

"I was handling it pretty well but I straddled 10 or 15 gates from the finish. I knew that the chances of finishing in the top 25 and qualifying were slim."

Kristofic said Janyk and Cousineau have a great opportunity to end the season on a high note.

"I am sure they will approach it right and ski to win the race," said Kristofic. "These guys have been knocking on the podium all winter but came up short. Hopefully they can channel their energy into a motivated performance."

Janyk, who has had two fifths and one fourth-place finish since the turn of the year, knows exactly how he will approach the World Cup finals.

"I'm not going to change anything," he said. "I really like how my skis are working."

The men's World Cup circuit travels to Kvitfjell, Norway, for speed races next weekend.

― The Canadian Press and Alpine Canada contributed to this report



Kranjska Gora men’s World Cup slalom results