|  Wys³any: 2019-03-05 04:26:48 Temat postu: World Cup title in GS five of the last
ALTA BADIA, Italy - Ted Ligety needs some training.A lot of it.And some snow would help, too.Struggling with a broken wrist and without the training volume he normally relies on, the Olympic champion was beaten soundly by Austrian rival Marcel Hirscher again in an unusually bumpy World Cup giant slalom race Sunday.Hirscher led after the opening run then extended his gap in the second leg to finish a whopping 1.45 seconds ahead of Ligety for his third consecutive victory in the technical events of GS and slalom. Thomas Fanara of France placed third, 1.48 back, for his third podium result on the Gran Risa course.Ligety, who normally dominates the GS events and has won this race twice, attributed his recent struggles to a lack of training. Thats partly due to the week he lost from his injury but mostly due to a lack of snow everywhere from Chile to Colorado to the Alps.Im a guy that likes a lot of skiing. I like to take 10 runs a day and ski a bunch of days. Whereas some guys dont like that kind of volume, said the American, who has won only one race this season. I get confidence out of skiing that kind of volume. Hopefully it snows somewhere or they can make snow somewhere and I get some training in.With little snow cover — all of it artificial — and green grass lining both sides of the steep and twisty Gran Risa, the bumps played a much bigger role than usual.It was definitely one of the toughest races this season. It was like mogul skiing or motocross skiing, said Hirscher, the three-time defending overall champion from Austria. But were not searching for easy races. Were searching for challenges.Usually at this time of year, the Gran Risa has a smoothly groomed and icy surface that allows Ligety to perform his high-arcing, rhythmic turns to perfection — like when he won the first run by an almost unheard of 2.40 seconds two years ago.Normally its like a carpet here — super smooth — and now its super rattley, Ligety said.Standing only seventh after the opening run, a distant 1.33 behind, Ligety had to alter his tactics for the second leg.Second run I just tried to go and, whether it felt horrible or not, just try to follow the fall line more, said Ligety, who is competing with four screws inserted into his left hand after breaking his wrist in a training accident last month. Whereas first run I was trying to be smooth and the snow wasnt letting me do it. I just kind of went with it more.It was Hirschers third career victory on the Gran Risa, having also won this race last year plus a slalom in 2011. Italian great Alberto Tomba holds the record of four wins on the Gran Risa.If you ski too lazy and not in an aggressive style you have no chance to fight against the Gran Risa, Hirscher said. I gave 100 per cent.Toronto native Trevor Philp finished 19th.In the overall, Hirscher moved within 70 points of leader Kjetil Jansrud, who finished 14th after winning a super-G in Val Gardena a day earlier.In the GS standings, Hirscher holds a 74-point lead over Ligety.Ligetys only win this season came when he stormed back from fourth after the opening run in a GS in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this month.I definitely have to try to figure out how to ski with a little more confidence in the first runs, he said. Thats been one of my strengths the last couple of years.Perhaps, Ligety was asked, he is struggling for motivation after so many seasons at the top of GS. After all, hes won the season-long World Cup title in GS five of the last seven seasons and took gold at the Sochi Olympics in February.I have no problem whatsoever for motivation, he said. Thats not an issue for me at all.___Andrew Dampf can be followed at www.twitter.com/asdampf Air Force 1 Cheap Wholesale .com) - The Milwaukee Bucks will try to get another win on this homestand Thursday night when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the Bradley Center. Discount Air Force Ones Wholesale .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. http://www.discountairforce1.com/. -- Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Air Force 1 Clearance . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two. Discount Air Force 1 . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China.SHANGHAI - Shanghai Masters winner Roger Federer was so rusty in his first match back this week after a month-long break that he was close to packing his bags and heading home.The Swiss star had racked up 57 unforced errors against Leonardo Mayer in the second round and fought off five match points before finally pulling through well after midnight.Four days after his narrow escape, however, he captured his fourth title of the year with a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) win over Frances Gilles Simon in Sundays final.I got very, very lucky, Federer said. I know what a privilege it is to be here today.Its been a banner year for Federer despite the fact hes fallen just short at the majors, including a heart-breaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. Federer leads the tour this season in match wins (61), top-10 wins (13) and final appearances (nine). And on Monday, he will leap past Rafael Nadal to No. 2 in the rankings for the first time in more than a year.Though Djokovic is still far ahead in No. 1, Federer also got his third win of the year against the Serb in the semifinals. He put on such a dominant display that Djokovic said in an unusually brief post-match news conference that it was the best Federer has ever played against him.A year ago, it was a different story. Bothered by back problems, he fell to a number of lower-ranked players and only won one title.The biggest concern was to be healthy this year, Federer said. Thats something Im just so pleased about, to see that the hard work I put in last year is paying off. Not only is it paying off, but Im feeling good, Im waking up normal. Im not half broken like I was last year.Im enjoying myself on the tennis court, he added. Im playing the way I was hoping I could play again.Fedderer didnt play the cleanest match on Sunday, though, even with the roof on the stadium closed due to the extremely windy conditions.ddddddddddddThe 17-time major winner finished with 36 unforced errors to 21 winners, but he was the more aggressive player, constantly attacking the net behind crisp approach shots and forcing Simon to try to pass. He won 24 of 35 points at net.He still has the same strengths, this fantastic serve and this huge forehand, Simon said. Now I know him, so Im not scared anymore when I have to play him. But its still so hard to beat him.Federer played a very loose service game to start the match, misfiring badly on his forehand to give Simon an immediate break for 1-0. Before the final, he had only dropped serve three times all week.Simon couldnt capitalize on Federers mistakes, though. Serving for the set at 5-4, his steady baseline game suddenly fell apart and he made several consecutive errors to allow Federer to break back and level the score.The Frenchman had chances to take the match to a third set, getting two break points on Federers serve at 5-6, but he missed a return wide and then hit a forehand well long to squander both.Every time he has an opportunity, hes really good at taking it, Simon said. When you play a close match with him, maybe he just has this feeling that he will somehow survive the match every time.The No. 29-ranked Simon was attempting to become the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters title since No. 50 Tomas Berdych captured the Paris title in 2005.The Frenchman fell out of the top 20 in February for the first time since 2011, but after a solid week in which he defeated two top-10 players — No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 7 Berdych — hell vault back up to No. 19. ' ' ' |
World Cup title in GS five of the last 
