Squaw’s downhillers 36th and 43rd

By USSA

WENGEN, Switzerland -– Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) continued to establish himself as a consistent force in Audi FIS Alpine World Cup speed events, taking 13th for his eighth career top-15 in Saturday’s downhill at Wengen, Switzerland, while Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was a tactical error away from putting down another podium run.

“Today was a good day for Andrew Weibrecht,” said U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick. “He executed from top to bottom his gameplan.”

With the eyes of Switzerland watching the 80th running of the famed, 2.7-mile Lauberhorn – the oldest and longest World Cup downhill – Weibrecht didn’t look like a man making his third season in Wengen.

Switzerland’s Carlo Janka won the race a day after Miller edged him for a super combined victory, and he nearly got another run for his money from the two-time World Cup overall champion.

Miller had the fastest time of the first 12 racers at the fifth and final interval, but an aggressive line through the super G turns forced him low, and he tried to take an aggressively straight line through the final turns to compensate and missed a gate just before the finish.

“I hit my elbow on the ground,” said Miller, who won back-to-back downhills at Wengen in 2007 and 2008 and became the first American to win the super combined there since Buddy Werner in 1958. “I just hit one bump. I couldn’t really see that great. It kind of got overcast today and it was tough light, and once I made that mistake, I came out of the turn with no speed at all.”

Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) said he was tired at the end of his run, but he earned a solid 21st place after injuring his ankle in last year’s Lauberhorn and missing the World Championships.

Erik Fisher (Middleton, ID) landed in the points, but that didn’t satisfy the high expectations Rearick has for the talented 24-year-old.

Squaw Valley’s own Travis Ganong took 43rd in just his third World Cup start, while Marco Sullivan was 36th after his tails slid out near the start and he lost speed before the flats.

Next up for the speedsters is the similarly prestigious Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbuehel, Austria, next weekend.

Wengen, Switzerland, Jan. 16, Men’s Downhill

1. Carlo Janka, Switzerland, 2:32.23

2. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canada, 2:32.89

3. Marco Buechel, Liechtenstein, 2:33.05

4. Werner Heel, Italy, 2:33.06

T-5. Didier Cuche, Switzerland, and Andrej Jerman, Slovenia, 2:33.09

–

13. Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, NY, 2:34.09

21. Steven Nyman, Sundance, UT, 2:35.10

28. Erik Fisher, Middleton, ID, 2:35.66

36. Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, CA, 2:37.28

41. Scott Macartney, Crystal Mountain, WA, 2:37.82

43. Travis Ganong, Squaw Valley, CA, 2:38.46

DNF – Bode Miller, Franconia, NH