First, snow completely stifled the Americans. After three days of bell-ringing and cheers, the only thing American in the last of the World Cup races on Sunday was the singing of the National Anthem by Picabo Street.
Then came the ruts. As they got deeper and deeper, and skiers tried harder and harder to get out of them, times got slower and slower.As a result, there was no celebrating by the Americans after the men's slalom, and there were some unexpected names on the top lines of the official results.
Plerrick Bourgeat of France jumped from 14th after the first run to the top step on the podium, Hans-Petter Buraas was the only Norwegian to reach the podium after the team qualified 1-3-4-5, and Christian Mayer of Austria used the confidence from his second-place finish in the GS on Friday to take the bronze in the slalom.
All in all, it was a pretty crazy day.
After three days of good weather and uncharacteristically strong results from the U.S. team, heavy snow fell early Sunday, making it nearly impossible at times to see more than a few gates down the course.
When the top 30 qualifiers were posted, the list was loaded with the French Austrians and Norwegians but no Americans. The best U.S. finisher was Sacha Gros in 36th, nearly three seconds slower than the leader. Drew Thorne Thomsen was 39th and Brad Hogan was 43rd of 44 finishers. Bode Miller, who was 8th in the GS, and Andy Leroy were disqualified.
All this after U.S. coaches had been celebrating one of the most successful World Cups on record. Two women scored for the U.S. in GS, which was the first time that happened in six years; three men scored for the men in the GS, which was a first since 1991; and five women qualified in the top 30 in the women's slalom, which was a first since 1993.
Coaches acknowledged that the U.S. struggled in two areas on Sunday. One, this is a young slalom team in need of experience as much as great finishes. And two, the worst of the storm came as the American contingent was preparing to run.
"From about the 20th or 25th starter on, you didn't have much of a chance. I couldn't even see our guys as they came down the pitch," said Bill Egan, head coach of the men's team.
Gros, who started 42nd, said that from the skier's perspective it was worse than it looked. Miller, who started 46th, had a more painful experience. Six weeks ago he fell off a skateboard and cut his wrist, which required 90 stitches to close. As he approached the finish on Sunday, he smacked his hand on a pole, which caused him a great deal of pain and to over-rotate his body, which forced him to ski out of the course.
The new snow from the first run caused even more problems for the second run. With each passing skier the snow softened more and ruts got larger. Which in World Cup racing severely handicaps the leaders because the top 30 field in reversed and the fastest skiers races last.
Buraas, the gold-metal winner in Nagano, joked after the race that the bumps were "the biggest I have ever seen."
After a troubled first run, during which he hit his chin on a pole and nearly skied out of the course, Bour-geat had 14 skiers ahead of him with better first runs. The fastest skier on the first run, in fact, Finn Christian Jagge of Norway, had a two-second advantage.
Still, the Frenchman was apparently the only skier able to accelerate off the ruts and maintain his balance. His second-run time was nearly two seconds better than Buraas'. Chances of a 14th place skier posting a winning time on a smooth course, against a field of this caliber, especially giving up a two-second handicap, would be extremely slim.
" did not expect to win," he admitted. "I was hoping to come back and finish in the top 8. Coming from 14th, I had nothing to lose. But for me the conditions were perfect. I like to be behind. I like to have to fight. Today was one of my best."
As racer after racer skied down, and times continued to slow for skiers that should have been faster, such as Olympic gold medalist Mario Reiter of Austria and Thomas Stangassinger of Austria, last year's winner. It was apparent that as the course worsened, the racers became more cautious.
Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway, 5th after the first run, dropped to 10th; Ole Christian Furuseth of Nor-way, 4th after the first run fell to 16th; Jure Kosir of Slovenia, 2nd after the first run fell to 12th; and Jagge dropped the 4th.
The only one of the leaders to post a respectable time was Buraas. Even then, despite a second and a half lead after the first run, he finished two and a half seconds behind the winner.
The men will now move to Aspen next week for a Super G and slalom, while the women head for Canada for a downhill and Super G.
Despite Sunday's problems, U.S. coaches admitted that this is one of the most successful openings for both men and women. And they said they felt confident that despite the fact that both are young teams, they are well on their way to success in 2002.
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Additional Information
WORLD CUP
Results of a men's World Cup slalom on Sunday at Park City:
1. Pierrick Bourgeat, France, 1 minute, 43.34 seconds.
2. Hans-Petter Buraas, Norway, 1:43.76.
3. Christian Mayer, Austria, 1:44.02.
4. Markus Eberle, Germany, 1:44.06.
(tie) Finn Christian Jagge, Norway, 1:44.06.
6. Sebastian Amiez, France, 1:44.29.
7. Thomas Stangassinger, Austria, 1:44.40
8. Thomas Grandi, Canada, 1:44.44.
9. Kjetil Andre Aamodt, Norway, 1:44.54.
(tie) Francois Simond, France, 1:44.54.
11. Kristinn Bjornsson, Iceland, 1:44.56.
12. Jure Kosir, Slovenia, 1:44.57.
13. Lasse Kjus, Norway, 1:44.72.
14. Michael Von Gruenigen, Switzerland, 1:44.76.
15. Killian Albrecht, Austria, 1:45.40.