Macuga top 15, three in top 30 as Birds of Prey super-G wraps up women’s World Cup

The U.S. Ski Team recently issued the following press release on the successful conclusion of the first-ever, regular-season women’s World Cup ski racing weekend Sunday at Beaver Creek:

On the final day of the back-to-back Stifel Birds of Prey weekend races, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Lauren Macuga again led the way with a top 15, finishing in 12th in the super-G. Teammates Keely Cashman and Breezy Johnson also scored 21st and 28th.

“It was really good skiing, but I kept getting late so I was not sure how fast it would be when I came down, so I was excited to see that it was a pretty decent run,” said Macuga. 

The weather finally changed from the non-stop Colorado sunshine to overcast skies, wind and some light snowfall. Regardless, the best women speed skiers in the world were ready to bring it for the super-G. Macuga ran first for the U.S. squad in bib three. Coming off her career-best result in Saturday’s downhill, she sent it down the course. Despite getting low and late in a few spots, she took the lead and sat smiling in the leaderboard chair for about five racers. 

“It’s nice because I know I had good skiing. I just wasn’t on the line so I know if I had executed better I would have been right in there,” said Macuga. “I knew it was not a podium-contending run but I know what I have to do to get there.” 

The top group of super-G skiers put down high-speed runs with each skier outdoing the other. Ultimately, Italian skier Sofia Goggia claimed the victory, knifing her run to take the win by almost a half-second. Goggia celebrated in style with a short samba dance, reminiscent of the same dance performed by Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen the week before. Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami claimed second place with Austrian Ariane Raedler in the third spot. 

The next group of U.S. racers ran after bib 35. Each skier did their best to fight the wind and changing weather conditions to claim some World Cup points. Cashman was one skier who broke through the tough conditions with a stellar run moving from bib 44 to 21st. The fans were brought to their feet as Cashman not only started her season with a bang, but also took home a pretty penny, winning the $5,000 Stifel Bibbo Award.  

“I got pretty lucky with the light. The sun was coming in and out for me and standing in the start for a little while sort of helped me calm down and gave me time to gather my thoughts,” said Cashman. “Some sections felt good and others did not feel great, but super-G can be tricky sometimes where you need to be right on the edge to be super fast.”

Johnson also had a solid performance on Sunday, claiming 28th place. It was her first race back on the circuit in a year, and she was pleased to start off with two World Cup points-scoring results in Beaver Creek. Tricia Mangan, Jackie Wiles, Bella Wright and independent athlete Haley Cutler also raced, placing 37th, 38th, 40th and 42nd, respectively. 

The speed women will now head back to Europe to prepare for a pair of super-G races in St. Moritz, Switzerland where teammate and Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is poised to make her official World Cup race comeback. 

RESULTS
Women’s super-G