Two Americans in the top 25 in opening super G at Birds of Prey World Cup

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team on Thursday issued the following press release on the men’s super G race on the Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek:

he Xfinity Birds of Prey World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colo. got underway on Thursday, Dec. 2, yielding some decent results for the American men. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was the top U.S. finisher, skiing into a tie at 19th with Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler. Travis Ganong tied for his position of 22nd with France’s Mathieu Faivre.

Both Cochran-Siegle and Ganong did what they could at the super-G season opener, which posed some issues for a majority of the men’s field. By the conclusion of the race, 15 men had DNFed, including top speed competitors such as Dominik Paris, Max Franz, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt repeated his past success in Beaver Creek, taking the lead by 0.78 seconds over Austria’s Matthias Mayer. Canada’s Broderick Thompson shocked the start order, skiing from the back of the pack in bib 35 to snag third by three-hundredths of a second. 

The track has a reputation for touting grippy, hero-snow, that is fast, yet controlled, and an absolute blast for the athletes to compete on. But Thursday’s warm conditions upped the pace. Fast snow, a bumpy course, and a turny course set made for a race that set the tone for a weekend – fight hard, it’s anyone’s game.

“I’ve had a lot of good races here, and today wasn’t one of them, but it was still decent,” Ganong commented after his run. “On a day like today when a bunch of people were missing the same gate it would have been nice to know how turny it was. But we have an opportunity to make it better tomorrow.”

Ganong, who started ahead of Cochran-Siegle, and came into his run with little information about this particular turn that had caused a lot of the field trouble. So he stuck to his plan. Cochran-Siegle, on the other hand, received info that Ganong took the problem turn a bit too straight, which led him to stivvy his skis, and dump some speed in hopes of keeping it together and skiing a clean run. Unfortunately, he released a bit too much.

Edwards, Colo. native, River Radamus, also had a strong showing for a majority of his run, on track throughout each split to finish among the top 20 men of the group. Unfortunately, Radamus lost his grip on the course just a few gates before the finish and DNFed. He’ll seek vengeance in the weekend’s second super-G on Friday, Dec. 3rd. Fellow Americans Steven Nyman, Bryce Bennett, and Jared Goldberg finished 42nd, 43rd, and 46th. 

The speed crew is looking forward to not one, but two, downhill races on home snow over the course of the weekend, and another chance at the super-G on Friday. Fuel has been added to the fire, and with the extra chance to show off their speed on home soil, it’s sure to be a show fans won’t want to miss.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

SUPER-G STARTERS
Erik Arvidsson
Bryce Bennett
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Travis Ganong
Steven Nyman
River Radamus

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Super-G – Same-Day Broadcast, Beaver Creek, CO, NBCSN

Friday, Dec. 3, 2021
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Super-G – LIVE, Beaver Creek, CO, Broadcast NBCSN
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Super-G – LIVE, Beaver Creek, CO, Streaming, Peacock
2:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Downhill – LIVE, Lake Louise, CAN, Ski and Snowboard Live

Saturday, Dec. 4
1:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – LIVE Beaver Creek, CO, Streaming Peacock
1:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – LIVE Beaver Creek, CO, Broadcast NBCSN
2:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Downhill – LIVE, Lake Louise, CAN, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – Same-day broadcast, Beaver Creek, CO, Broadcast NBC

Sunday, Dec. 5
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G – LIVE Lake Louise, CAN, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – LIVE, Beaver Creek, CO, Streaming Peacock
2:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super G – LIVE, Lake Louise, CAN, Ski and Snowboard Live
2:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – Same-day broadcast, Beaver Creek, CO, Broadcast, NBCSN
4:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Xfinity Birds of Prey Men’s Downhill – Same-day broadcast, Beaver Creek, CO, Broadcast NBC

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. 

Check out our “How to Watch” guide to figure out what the best watch option is for you.