By USSA

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany – A bruised and banged up Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) led five Americans into the top 30, with a sixth-place finish, in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Saturday on the Kandahar downhill track.

“I wasn’t really sure I was going to be able to ski this week with my knee – I had a bone bruise after Kitzbuehel,” said Ganong, who skied to his best result ever on the Kandahar downhill track. “I’m just really happy that I pushed through and raced today because it’s an awesome result.”

Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde stepped in for injured teammate Aksel Lund Svindal, who blew his knee last week in Kitzbuehel, and came out of the 30th start position to win his first career World Cup downhill. Slovenia’s Bostjan Kline was second, and Switzerland’s Beat Feuz was third.

For the Americans, Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) was 10th; Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) tied for 17th; Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) was 20th; and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) cracked the top 30 in downhill for the first time this season in 23rd. Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.), Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley) and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley) all DNFed.

“Today (the Kandahar downhill track) surprised us,” Nyman said. “The first training run, it was really soft and warm, but it bound up and got frozen and was brutal. It’s an endurance track. Even though it’s only about two minutes, it’s bumpy and dark the whole way down. And it turns, a lot. It’s a nonstop fight.”