For Americans Ted Ligety and Bode Miller, this weekend’s World Cup race in Val d’Isere, France, was one to soon forget.
For the first time in nearly five years, Ligety didn’t qualify for the final of a World Cup giant slalom race. The winner of two giant slaloms this season, Legity took a gate on his opening run too wide and went down on his hip. Miller fared no better. Miller tripped over his skis at near the conclusion of his first run and toppled over.
Neither skier qualified past the first round of the slalom race on Sunday, either.
Both skiers attribute the mishap to bad luck and Val d’Isere’s notoriously difficult course.
U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick wasn’t concerned about Ligety’s performance. “It was tough conditions where it was very hard snow but very grippy,” Rearick said in a . “We’ve been training on ice getting ready for Val d’Isere and we didn’t make that transition very well today.”
Next, both Ligety and Miller will head to Italy to prepare for downhill at Val Gardena in Alta Badia, which starts December 22.