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Cochran 8th in SL, Leads U.S. Again
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (Jan. 6) - Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH), having the best season of his World Cup career, grabbed his third top-10 of the season Sunday, finishing eighth in a slalom. World champion Mario Matt of Austria won with World Cup leader and teammate Benjamin Raich second. WCSN will provide same-day, on-demand webstreaming.
"I thought I was out up there a couple of times, but I stayed with it and I got down the hill," Cochran said. "I had a few bobbles and some good recoveries." Said Coach Sasha Rearick, "Jimmy's athleticism saved him. It was fantastic to watch."
Matt led the first run and finished with a two-run time of 1:48.45 with Raich runner-up in 1:48.55. Cochran, 11th in the opening run, finished in 1:49.72. Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) straddled a gate during his second run and Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) was DNF-1.
After a night of rain and a downpour just after dawn, the race had slick sections, which created some problems on top of the normal attrition in a slalom from its staccato pace. "The light was tough, too, and I think that's what got Ted on his second run because it just makes it so tough to pickup a rut or something else. It was great light when I went and when Ted skied, just a few minutes after me, it was all dark," Cochran said. "He was so solid in that first run and he's been so fast, but I'm sure the light got him."
The performance was the third top-10 of the season to go with two other top-20s for the 2006 Olympian and three-time U.S. champion. "I'm having a ball," Cochran said. "I think results kind of feed off each other. I've always said confidence is all mental. I know now that without any mistakes, I can be in there.
"In the past, I've too often approached it thinking I had to go wild and ski outside myself, but now I realize I can do it if I just ski within myself" and don't feel the need to produce an extraordinary run, he said. The night of rain meant more than half the course was more icy than usual, he said, "and the rest was just mushy. But they did a good job with preparing the course after all that rain."
Rearick was impressed by Cochran's ability to hit a slick spot and recover without losing much speed. "His athleticism really showed; it carried him today. He did a fantastic job in those recoveries and in getting down a tough slalom hill.
"He's got another gear and one of these days he's going to use it. Still, Jimmy never lost his focus on a day where we had a mix of everything - rain, sun, fog that was in and out, clouds," Rearick said.
"Ted did a fantastic job on his first run where he was simply awesome on the bottom. And then he straddled on the second run and I don't think Ted straddled a gate all summer," he said.
The men move to Wengen this week for the 78th Lauberhorn Race Week, including a super combined Friday, the classic downhill - on the World Cup's longest course - on Saturday and a slalom Sunday.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
Adelboden, SUI - Jan. 6, 2008
Men's Slalom
1. Mario Matt, Austria, 1:48.45
2. Benjamin Raich, Austria, 1:48.55
3. Felix Neureuther, Germany, 1:48.59
4. (tie) Manfred Moelgg, Italy, and Rainer Schoenfelder, Austria, 1:49.14
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8. Jimmy Cochran, Keene, NH, 1:49.72
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DNF-2:
Ted Ligety, Park City, UT
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DNF-1:
Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, NH
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Cochran 8th in SL, Leads U.S. Again
