HIGHLIGHTS: U.S. snow job as Cochran-Siegle wins in Bormio, bronze for Shiffrin in Semmering, Diggins & Brennan lead Tour de Ski!

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Headline outcomes of noteworthy competitions world wide:

● Alpine Snowboarding ● The U.S. Ski Group had a December to recollect, and persevering with into 2021!

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who gained his first profession World Cup medal – a silver – within the 18 December Tremendous-G at Val Gardena (ITA), collected his first World Cup gold within the Tremendous-G in Bormio (ITA) final Tuesday (December 29).

Snowboarding eight within the order, he blasted via his run and overwhelmed the sector, ending in 1:29.43, a staggering 0.79 – for ski racing – forward of runner-up Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), with Adrien Sjersted (NOR) third. It was the primary U.S. win in a World Cup Tremendous-G since Bode Miller in December 2006.

Mentioned the winner, “I skied nicely. I had a superb strategy and carried pace in plenty of sections … that center part, I undoubtedly skied with a superb restrict and simply trusting that, making an attempt to ski it sensible. The pace I gained from there, I carried via the end and had that hole.”

Cochran-Siegle, 28, skied nicely within the Wednesday Downhill, ending seventh, his third profession top-10 end in a Downhill, behind winner Matthias Meyer (AUT). Kriechmayr completed second for the second day in a row by simply 0.04, with Swiss Urs Kryenbuehl third, simply 6/100ths behind the winner.

The ladies’s tour was in Semmering, Austria, with the Large Slalom canceled as a consequence of climate and the Slalom held on Tuesday (twenty ninth). Swiss Michelle Gisin gained her first profession particular person World Cup race, simply edging Austria’s Katharina Liensberger (+0.11) and U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin (+0.57). Shiffrin led after the primary run, however had some hassle on the second, posting solely the ninth-best time to drop to the bronze.

The annual Snow Queen Trophy was up for grabs in Zagreb (CRO) on Sunday – in a Slalom – with general World Cup chief Petra Vlhova (SVK) profitable her fourth race of the season, forward of Liensberger (+0.05) and Gisin (+0.22), with Shiffrin fourth (+0.27). The boys will race in a Slalom on Wednesday (sixth).

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF men’s World Junior (U-20) Championships started on Christmas Day in Edmonton (CAN), with Canada (3 wins), Finland (2) and the U.S. (2) having gained the final seven tournaments between them. The video games are being held at Rogers Place, however with no followers allowed.

It’s going as anticipated, with Canada profitable all 4 of its video games in Group A, defeating Finland, 4-1, which was 3-1 general.

In Group B, the U.S. completed 3-1, shedding to Russia, 5-3, in its opener, then shutting out Austria (11-0), the Czech Republic (7-0) and Sweden (4-0). Russia completed 2-1 plus an extra time win, beating Sweden for second place within the group by 4-3.

Within the quarterfinals, Canada shut out the Czechs, 3-0 and Russia defeated Germany, to arrange their semifinal for Monday, a re-match of the 2020 gold-medal sport. The U.S. sailed previous Slovakia, 5-2, and can meet Finland, a 3-2 winner over arch-rival Sweden.

U.S. ahead Trevor Zegras is the scoring chief with 15 factors and is second within the match with six targets, simply behind Canada’s Dylan Cozens (7, and 13 whole factors).

● Luge ● Felix Loch continued his march towards a seventh profession World Cup title on the fifth FIL World Cup of the season, in Koenigssee (GER) over the weekend.

Loch (GER) gained the boys’s Singles race for the sixth time in seven tries this season; his cumulative time of 1:38.218 gave him a transparent win over Russian Roman Repilov (1:38.503) and Johannes Ludwig (GER: 1:38.919).

That was one-third of the German sweep, as Julia Taubitz gained her fifth race in seven tries this season within the girls’s Singles, ending in 1:41.02, forward of teammate Natalie Geisenberger (1:41.712) and Australia’s Madeleine Egle (1:41.770). Geisenberger has completed second in all seven races this season and now has a 595-591 lead over Taubitz for the seasonal lead!

Within the males’s Doubles, Germany’s Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken gained for the third time this season, forward of teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, 1:40.284 to 1:40.425. Seasonal leaders Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller (AUT) completed third in 1:40.754.

● Nordic Snowboarding ● American star Jessie Diggins made historical past in 2018 as she and Kikkan Randall gained the first-ever U.S. gold in Cross Nation Snowboarding by profitable the Group Dash in PyeongChang. Whereas Randall has retired – and has crushed most cancers – Diggins has continued and is displaying she’ll be a menace in Beijing in 2022 as nicely.

Whereas teammate Rosie Brennan has stolen the headlines with two World Cup wins earlier this season, Diggins has risen to the highest of the year-opening Tour de Ski, an annual 10-day trek via the Alps in Switzerland and Italy:

● At Val Mustair (SUI) on the first, she completed third (+3.41) within the 1.4 km Freestyle Dash, , behind Swede Linn Svahn and Anamarija Lampic (SLO: +0.54), with Brennan fifth.

● On Saturday (2nd), Diggins collected one other bronze, this time within the 10 km Classical Mass Begin, simply 0.8 behind Svahn – who gained for the third time this season – and Yulia Stupak (RUS: +0.7). Brennan wasn’t far behind, in sixth (+3.4).

● On Sunday, Diggins broke via to win the ten km Freestyle Pursuit, main Brennan (+5.6) for a 1-2 U.S. end, with Frida Karlsson (SWE) third. It’s the sixth profession World Cup win for Diggins, 29, and her first pursuit win. Brennan collected her fourth particular person World Cup medal this season.

Mentioned the winner: “Frida was superb and I saved making an attempt to push the poles and be there, however I saved pondering that each lap I’m going to get dropped. I used to be simply hanging on by a thread and I simply acquired actually excited for the downhill. I assumed that perhaps I might maintain on, and if not, then I blow up, nevertheless it was value a shot.”

Put all of it collectively and Diggins is main the Tour de Ski after three of eight legs, by 5 seconds over Brennan and 10 over Karlsson. The Tour heads to Toblach (ITA) on Tuesday and Wednesday and completed in Val di Fiemme (ITA) on the weekend. No American has gained the Tour de Ski; Diggins is the one one to ever end on the rostrum: third in 2018.

Within the males’s Tour de Ski, seasonal chief Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) took off, ending second to Federico Pellegrino (ITA) within the Dash, then profitable the 15 km Classical Mass Begin and 15 km Freestyle Pursuit. Bolsuhov gained simply within the Mass begin, some 23.5 seconds forward of Dario Cologna (SUI) and crushed teammate Artem Maltsev by 53.5 seconds within the 15 km Freestyle Pursuit. His lead within the Tour de Ski is already 53 second over Maltsev.

In Ski Leaping, the 69th version of the famed 4 Hills Event acquired moving into Obertsdorf (GER) off the 137 m hill, with Karl Geiger (GER) posting his first win of the season, simply forward of three-time Olympic champ Kamil Stoch (POL) and Marius Lindvik (NOR).

The second stage was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) on the 142 m Grosse Olympiaschanze, with Poland’s Dawid Kubacki additionally profitable for the primary time in 2020-21, forward of seasonal chief Halvor Egner Granerud (NOR) and Piotr Zyla (POL).

In Innsbruck (AUT) on Sunday (third), it was Stoch – in search of a 3rd profession 4 Hills win – who took the occasion on the 128 m hill, forward of Anze Lanisek (SLO) and Kubacki. With one stage left at Bischofshofen (AUT) on Wednesday, Stoch has the lead by 809.9-794.7-789.3 over Kubacki and Granerud.

The boys’s and girls’s Nordic Mixed occasions in Otepaa (EST) had been canceled as a result of coronavirus state of affairs in Estonia.

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