After a career-best 7th in Val d’Isere in December, Davide Chodounsky of Crested Butte, CO finished a team-best 8th at Adelboden in Switzerland on Sunday, January 12. The 2007 NCAA champion is poised to lead the US Ski Team in Slalom at the Sochi Olympic Games.
Photo: Getty Images/AFP – Fabrice Coffrini
Chodounsky has now finished in the top 15 in the last three slalom races, including a career that career-best seventh to close 2013. Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) qualified 20th for the final, but skied out in the second run after a fast top section.
Sun drenched the Chuenisbaergli race hill for the second straight day, producing soft conditions for both runs. “This year the snow is not great. It’s very warm and the course gets rutty. And during the second run the sun starts to go down and the course gets dark. It’s very steep. It’s got all sorts of tricks to throw at you, but it’s a good hill,” explained Chodounsky. He added, “Anytime you get points, it’s a good day, but I feel I’m ready to consistently be challenging for the podium. It was tough and it was fast on the steepest pitch on the tour. It was good for me. There were a couple mistakes in the second run. If I could clean that up it could be really good.”
David has 3 more slalom races in January and the US Ski Team for Sochi is officially named January 26. We’ll be cheering for David to keep up the consistency and he should be named to the team later this month. “I try to go in with no expectations and just ski fast. I just want to keep building on that and hopefully make it on the podium soon,” said Chodounsky. Hopefully that podium will bring home an Olympic medal. Let’s go David!
About the Author
