I meant to post on this, and didn't get around to it.
Pretty obviously MH and HK simply own SL, regardless of venue. HK is clearly so close on Hirscher's heels that he can overtake him for the SL overall if Hirscher were to DNF one, and falter in another. Of course if HK does, MH's margin could go way up. Everybody else is FAR back although there is good skiing going on! Daniel Yule being one great example.
When you're over two seconds out, and in third, the top two guys are smoking the field. I was sorry to see the snowballs. It's not totally unexpected. Years ago I recall some "fans" throwing lit road flares out onto the course. The course crew can be busy with cleanup some years. You basically have over 50K "well lubricated" fans. And they were rooting for MH to tie the Austrian WC win record, and for Austria to win their 500th WC race. Both done.
I thought that HK and MH were both real class acts in their comments, and in the whole post race events. These guys clearly respect each other.
Re: the USA, Engel had a brutal second run, running second. The surface was evidently a mess, and didn't become really predictable or skiable until about 4th guy ran. Mark hiked and finished 25 seconds out. He was our only finisher. Dave C DNF'd in the first run. Ginnis, Kasper and Roberts all failed to qualify for a second run.
Now, to put how dismal this is into perspective, the Austrians had six guys in the second run, as did the French. Swiss only had three. Norwegians had four, including two ex NCAA skiers.
Dave Ryding finished in 12th. He's a beautiful skier, but he really struggles {relatively speaking} on this brutal hills. Just not quite there on them, this season. He's a great model for beautiful skiing, on a hill like Levi. As I recall, we had some people saying that everybody else would be skiing for second this season. Well, not so fast. There is also some chatter that he's not a great competitor. He may do real well in Korea. Would be great see him medal. His skiing reminds me that this sport IS ALL ABOUT THE CLOCK, and no style points. Sorry if that offends anybody. I've spent decades watching racers who looked great, timed fine in most events, and just didn't deliver consistently on the bigger stages. I hope that Dave gets to the podium again.
So this event sealed our Olympic team as well. No Ginnis, no Hig Roberts. Robby Kelly and Michael Ankeny were already out. Nolan K is in.
Pretty low point for USA men's SL. I know many of these guys, they are working hard, but results matter. It is what it is.
Just my $.02
