Adelboden: "The Bar Exam of GS hills"

It’s the meat of the World Cup season, which always includes an early January stop at the challenging Kuonisbärgli course in Adelboden, Switzerland. Typically an icy rollercoaster, this year Mother Nature made some changes to the intimidating pitch.
    “This hill has every element,” said U.S. men’s tech coach Sasha Rearick. " … I call it the “Bar Exam of GS hills”.
    U.S. racers have rarely found success in Adelboden. World Cup GS standings leader Ted Ligety drew the No. 2 bib Saturday and charged out of the starthouse full-bore. But eight gates in, he hit the flat and got bucked, flipping and crashing on his back.  Bode Miller left the starthouse 14th, and had trouble where Ligety lost it, skiing wide of a gate.
    American Jimmy Cochran, riding high after surprising finishes at Alta Badia, moved up from 30th to finish 16th after his first run, the U.S. team’s best result of the day. He held on for 17th position in the final results.

ADELBODEN, Switzerland — It's the meat of the World Cup season, which always includes an early January stop at the challenging Kuonisbärgli course in Adelboden, Switzerland. Typically an icy rollercoaster, this year Mother Nature made some changes to the intimidating pitch.
    Switzerland has enjoyed a deeper early-season snowpack than normal, allowing course workers to smooth the transitions between the pitches and the flats. But the dreaded Föhn wind arrived on Thursday, wreaking havoc in the Alps with warm temperatures that decidedly changed course conditions.
    “This hill has every element,” said U.S. men’s tech coach Sasha Rearick. “Right out of the starthouse it’s steep, and even rolls over in the middle of the pitch, and then goes to dead flat. And the racers really have to have a ton of strength to hold that turn. After that, there are sidehills and roads, and then you have the steepest pitch on the World Cup to deal with at the end. I call it the “Bar Exam of GS hills."
    U.S. racers have rarely found success in Adelboden. With the warm temps and iffy weather forecast, it looked like start order would play an important role. World Cup GS standings leader Ted Ligety drew the No. 2 bib, and charged out of the starthouse full-bore. But eight gates in, he hit the flat and got bucked, flipping and crashing on his back.
    “I was a little late, and booted out on that gate,” said Ligety. “It caused me to really hook up, and then it just tossed me. My face is a little raw, and my hip flexor is tight, but that’s about it. I’m fine.”
    Swiss racer Daniel Albrecht took the lead just after Ligety’s crash, and the sea of red Swiss flags and the ring of cowbells set the tone for the day. Didier Cuche skied a nearly flawless first run, taking over first place from Albrecht to the delight of the crowd.
    Bode Miller left the starthouse 14th, and had trouble where Ligety lost it, skiing wide of a gate. He swung around and sidestepped back up, but missed another gate farther down the pitch.
    Then, the sun came out, and Marc Berthod of Switzerland was feeling the home court advantage. Looking to take the lead from Cuche after both splits, he wound up third and the Swiss briefly held the podium all to themselves. But Austria’s Stephan Goergl got a sunny break and took over the lead going into the second run.
    American Jimmy Cochran, riding high after surprising finishes at Alta Badia, moved up from 30th to finish 16th after his first run, the U.S. team’s best result of the day.
    “It went well,” Cochran said. “I made it down. That’s about it. It’s one of those hills where I didn’t feel that good. I’m not sure anyone did. It’s just all about survival here. It’s such a hectic hill and a hectic course.”
    “The visibility was awesome for my run,” he added. “The best vis I’ve ever had since I have been racing here. And you could see how it affected those early guys. I mean with Ted, he couldn’t even see that thing coming, and the next thing he knew, he was upside-down and going backwards.”
    Dane Spencer, still seeking his first GS comeback success, also skied out in a tricky section of the Kuonisbärgli. “Dane is up and coming, and I thought today was going to be his day to qualify for a second run,” said Rearick. “He just hit a road a little sideways and got shot out. He’s been training really well, and it’s going to come. It’s just going to take some time.”
    The second run looked to be all Austria, as Rainer Schoenfelder, Christoph Gruber and Hannes Reichelt held the early podium spots. But Marc Berthod charged his second run for the home crowd and Albrecht pulled comfortably into second, despite looking loose and on the edge of disaster several times. Cuche couldn’t make it a full Swiss dance card, finishing 12th, and when Goergl crossed the finish line in 19th place, the crowd of normally stoic Swiss fans went wild.
    “It was a big advantage to have this crowd at the finish,” Berthod said. “I can tell you, my legs were burning and tired and they warmed me at the end.” Adelboden is a mandatory stamp in a GS racer’s passport, and for Berthod it is no different.         “There is a special relationship with this slope here and myself,” he said. “It is a special place for me and I am confident coming here. Winning the GS here has always been a dream for me.”