Lanning, Ligety post Continental Cup wins Down Under

By Published On: August 31st, 2006Comments Off on Lanning, Ligety post Continental Cup wins Down Under

Lanning, Ligety post Continental Cup wins Down Under{mosimage}The U.S. men have wrapped up an extended training camp in New Zealand — capped by a strong showing from American technical skiers in Australia/New Zealand Continental Cup events to close out the team’s swing Down Under.

New Zealand’s Coronet Peak hosted two slalom and two giant slalom events that were moved from Australia’s Mount Hotham due to lack of snow. Ted Ligety won the opening slalom on Aug. 26, leading seven U.S. racers in the top 15. T.J. Lanning then captured the final GS race on Aug. 29, again leading seven U.S. men in the top 15.

Skiers from New Zealand and Australia comprised most of the race fields, with a handful of Korean, Japanese and European racers also competing.

Ligety finished fifth in the first GS on Aug. 28, the top American result behind a win from World Cup veteran Fredrik Nyberg of Sweden.

“… [I’m] just getting into the groove of things and seeing where we’re at in this point of the year,” Ligety said. “Mostly right now it’s just getting your balance down and getting your equipment so you don’t have to fool around with it when Sölden comes around.”

The men’s World Cup season will commence Oct. 29 with a GS race on the Rettenbach glacier in the Austrian Alps.

Jimmy Cochran had a solid outing in GS, finishing third behind Lanning and 10th in the opening event. Those results followed the 25-year-old’s fourth-place finish in the opening slalom. Lanning, meanwhile, finished ninth in the first GS.

The U.S. tech crew is expected to depart soon for Portillo, Chile, hooking up with the speed group there for more preseason training.

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