Wind complicates men's training run, prevents women's

Wind complicates men’s training run, prevents women’sHeavy winds in Santa Caterina led officials to cancel the second downhill training run for the women today at alpine world championships, while the men pushed out from a lower start onto an adjusted race line.

Wind was so severe that gates were flapping around in the wind. Austria’s Christoph Gruber won the run, although many athletes were standing up before the finish, and Bode Miller opened the start wand before exiting it. Miller was 59th at the first interval, but was the fastest in the second split time.

Justin Johnson finished a solid 19th, Ted Ligety 64th. Both Park City skiers are training for their first World Championships event.

“I prefer it when there’s a little more water in the track,” said Daron Rahvles, who has won the Bormio downhill before, and who finished 6th in today’s training run. “When it’s chalky and aggressive like this, I end up double pressuring. I tried something new with my skis today so they don’t hook up so quick and get me cramped up.”

Rahlves has been watching surf videos in his free time to get his “flow” back. He is off the painkillers he was taking to recover from his injury in Adelboden (particularly a deep bruise on his shin). He has been playing volleyball and basketball.