PARK CITY -- Uros Pavlovcic came to have fun in one of the last races of his competitive career. And maybe, just maybe, be lucky enough to beat a few of the U.S. Ski Team racers on the way.
Well, the Slovakian skier beat them all in the Chevy U.S. National Alpine and Freestyle Championships . . . 80 racers in all, most of them from the United States, and pretty much all of the key skiers on the U.S. Ski Team.No one was more surprised than Pavlovcic.
"This was supposed to be fun. I only have one more race left and then I retire. I did not think I had a chance to win," he said as he greeted well-wishers in the finish area.
Even after he posted the second fastest time on the first run, he said he was certain someone would step up and beat him. This was, after all, he said, "The strongest field of skiers I've raced against all season.
"Two years ago, I skied in this race and was first after the first run, but finished second. Now I am second after the first run and I win."
Pavlovcic, who skied for four years for the University of Sierra Nevada and raced in both NCAA and National Collegiate Ski Association events, did not lose one college race this year, in either slalom or giant slalom. In fact, despite skiing for the smaller NCSA school, he bettered the entire western side of NCAA skiing this past January in the University of Utah Ski Invitational.
Still, he said, "This is the win I will remember."
One thing in his favor in this year's race was that the two courses were "technical," where two years ago they were much straighter. . . . "Almost a downhill," he said.
"I like a technical course where there are more turns. I do better on courses like this."
Andrew Martin, a member of the U.S. team, was also somewhat surprised by his second-place finish. Not in the fact that he couldn't ski well, but simply because he has never beaten his two teammates -- Thomas Vonn and Bode Miller, the two favorites going into this event.
"This is the best I've skied against these guys. Certain runs I've been able to beat them and I know I can beat them, but this is the first time I've beaten all the guys on the ski team at a big event. This is the place you've got to do it. It's a great day," he said.
"I took a month break before this race because we didn't have any big races since I got back from Europe on Feb. 15. Since then, my only racing has been as a forerunner in a junior Olympics race. I knew I was skiing well, though. But I really hadn't been in a race for a while, and I was nervous about how I was going to ski here."
Vonn, who held a big lead after the first run, had problems on the course on his second and dropped to third overall. Miller, who was one of the team's bright spots in World Cup racing this season, also encountered some difficulties and finished fourth.
Pavlovcic's two-run time was one-minute, 59.59 seconds. Martin's time was 1:59.99, Vonn's time was 2:00.11 and Miller's time was 2:00.35.
-- Back at Snowbasin for a make-up race in the women's Super G, Katie Monahan of Aspen closed out what has been her most successful season on the ski team with a victory.
Monahan has been the U.S. team's top Super G skier all season. For this event, along with her Super G win, she finished with a second in the downhill on Friday and a first in the FIS-B downhill on Saturday.
After the race, she said she came into this event to win.
"I wanted to put it all on the line. I made one mistake in a section. I leaned in but I was able to ride the late line, and sometimes that's just as fast," she said.
"Basically, this course was edge to edge, turn to turn the whole way down. I think it turned out to be a little faster than anybody anticipated . . . which was good for me, I think, because I'm more experienced."
The race had been scheduled for Sunday, but heavy snow and warm temperatures made the course too hazardous to ski.
On Tuesday, skiers said the course was good but with some definite ripples, which made it difficult to ski.
Monahan's time was 1:15.05. Megan Gerety, of Anchorage, nursing a sore knee, finished second with a time of 1:15.48.
The national event wrapped up Wednesday with the men's and women's slalom at Deer Valley.