Rahlves skips France race; Truckee’s Horn places 77th

By USSA

LES CONTAMINES, France -– A turn away from the first World Cup win of his career, Casey Puckett (Aspen, CO) had to settle for fourth when he crashed Sunday morning in Les Contamines.

Puckett led in his second final group of the 2010 ski cross season – originally scheduled for Saturday but delayed due to heavy fog – from the outset, and appeared to be home free when he lost control squatting into a turn and suffered the fluky fall.

Ski cross coach Tyler Shepherd said he wasn’t sure what happened, and he would look at the replay later.

“It’s ski cross, sometimes that’s the way it goes,” he said.

France’s Xavier Kuhn skied past Puckett for the win.

Caitlin Ciccone (Littleton, NH) was 23rd in a woman’s race won by Canada’s Ashleigh McIvor, marking the best result of Ciccone’s career.

“We just need to figure out how to get her out of the start faster,” Shepherd said. “She’s a fast skier, we just have to get her up in front.”

Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) skipped out on the chance to improve on a career-best second place in St. Johann, Austria, last week, opting instead to train at home before a return to the World Cup circuit in Lake Placid on Jan. 21.

The U.S. squad has one more event – in Alpe d’Huez, France, on Wednesday – before a return to North America for races in Blue Mountain, ON, and Lake Placid.

Les Contamines, France, Jan. 10, skiercross

Men

1. Xavier Kuhn, France

2. Stanley Hayer, Canada

3. Tomas Kraus, Czech Republic

4. Casey Puckett, Aspen, CO

5. Michael Schmid, Switzerland

–

56. Justin Johnson, Park City, UT

62. John Teller, Mammoth Lakes, CA

67. Jean Christophe Rudigoz, Sun Valley, ID

77. Scott Horn, Truckee, CA

DNF – Patrick Duran, Fayston, VT

Women

1. Ashleigh McIvor, Canada

2. Julia Murray, Canada

3. Karin Huttary, Austria

4. Ophelie David, France

5. Katrin Mueller, Switzerland

–

23. Caitlin Ciccone, Littleton, NH