Lindsey Vonn has successful World Cup TV color debut

As Italy’s Sofia Goggia got here to the end space throughout Saturday’s girls’s World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, the colour commentator on the Olympic Channel stated, “This time goes to be very tough to beat. She’s going to get one other win. I might place some huge cash on that.”

Although Goggia was solely the ninth racer of the day, Lindsey Vonn was proper on the mark because the Italian received and two of her fellow teammates completed within the high 4, with Switzerland’s Lara Intestine-Behrami in second.

With Dan Hicks on the play-by-play, Vonn had a profitable color-commentary debut with fast insights to the race as they have been occurring. Although Hicks set her up properly, Vonn was ready with analysis and her encyclopedic Alpine data from her profession.

Vonn overcame a typical problem for lots of athletes transitioning to the published sales space — with the ability to criticize her contemporaries and former teammates. And she or he was capable of keep away from any controversy when speaking about Mikaela Shiffrin, who isn’t racing this weekend in Switzerland forward of her big slalom in Kronplatz, Italy, on Tuesday.

Ledecka crashes

Satirically, it was skier-snowboarder Ester Ledecka, the 2018 super-G Olympic champion, who actually gave Vonn her first likelihood to shine. Hicks set Vonn up properly with a query of how Ledecka may stability each sports activities, and Lindsey stated it wasn’t as massive of an adjustment as one thinks as a result of the Czech racer has “a sure contact for the snow.”

Simply as she was making that remark, Ledecka missed a important left flip and flew into the netting to the fitting.

“Ohhh, wow, that was unlucky as a result of that was an pointless error,” Vonn stated with out hesitation. “She simply let her ski get a bit of huge (on a flip) there. She thought she may pull it off.”

After all, Vonn is aware of a wee bit about crashing. Sure, she has 82 profession World Cup wins, however these got here with some tumbles. That have was important on Ledecka’s crash, when Vonn stated with aid, “Her skis got here off quick.”

Certainly because the replay proceeded and was replayed, Ledecka’s skis certainly popped off shortly as they’re meant and she or he was capable of make her manner down the hill underneath her personal energy.

That flip quickly turned a focus of the race and Vonn was proper on it. Two racers after Ledecka worn out, Goggia was getting into that part of the course.

“Let’s make certain she doesn’t make the identical mistake that Ledecka does — be sturdy on that outdoors ski on this blind roll,” Vonn stated.

Goggia slid a bit of on the flip, Vonn stated, however made it via efficiently.

The elephant within the room

Vonn pegged the result of the race because it was occurring and had another good insights in her broadcast debut.

• On American Breezy Johnson, who completed fifth on Saturday after 4 straight third-place ends in downhill this season: “… She simply makes small errors right here and there.” Vonn added that Johnson isn’t removed from successful and that she in all probability ought to have received in Val d’Isere, France, and St. Anton, Austria.
• Vonn remains to be related with many of the girls’s racers and apparently receives voicemails from Goggia frequently, together with one from after Saturday’s race. Whereas Vonn couldn’t play the voicemail on air due to know-how points, she was in a position sum up Goggia’s ideas on her day, which was a pleasant contact.
• On Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, who was seventh: “All she actually must do is have stable outcomes like this . … That is precisely what she has to do to win the general this yr. She’s received to get these factors when Mikaela’s not racing.“
• Talking of which, Shiffrin in fact got here up throughout the 90-minute broadcast. When requested about Mikaela’s tech-only strategy to the 2020-21 season, Vonn was diplomatic: “She undoubtedly hasn’t had the quantity of coaching she usually does,” Vonn stated. “She hasn’t been fairly as dominant in slalom and GS as she usually is. If I used to be as proficient as she was, I might at all times be doing 5 occasions, however that’s the totally different mentality that she has. She has been exceptionally profitable the best way she’s approached it. If she thinks that’s what she wants to achieve the World Championships, then she ought to, by all means, do it.”

A remaining query

Vonn will likely be additionally asserting Sunday’s super-G. (The Olympic Channel is displaying the super-G beginning at 3:58 a.m. Mountain Time, so set your DVRs or program the espresso machine accordingly. NBC Sports activities Community is airing a replay at 4:30 p.m. Sunday as nicely.)

However is shade commentary one thing Vonn needs to do throughout her post-racing profession? Is that this a check drive for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina, Italy, subsequent month?

The solutions are perhaps and perhaps. Since retiring after the 2019 worlds downhill, Vonn’s understandably in a time of transition. For 34 of her 36 years on the planet, Vonn has just about been fixated on snowboarding, so life after snowboarding is understandably totally different.

That is an possibility, however actually not her just one.

Most significantly, how does Vonn deal with a race wherein Shiffrin competes?

Publicly, the 2 best ski racers in American historical past are cordial, however there was some pressure between the 2 camps, most notably during the 2019 worlds in Are, Sweden.

We don’t know the reply to that query except this weekend was, in truth, a tryout for worlds.

Keep tuned.