Birds of Prey flashback: Ted Ligety and Mikaela Shiffrin conquer 2015 worlds

VAIL — Sure, the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships lasted two weeks, however one can actually boil them down to 2 days.

In fact, Tina Maze and and Anna Fenninger (now Veith) have been the headliners on the ladies’s facet. Marcel Hirscher dazzled, profitable two golds (mixed and the group occasion). People Lindsey Vonn (bronze, super-G), Travis Ganong (silver, downhill) and Ted Ligety (bronze, mixed) all made the rostrum, an incredible enchancment for the group after being blanked right here in 1999.

As nice because the array of stars and moments have been, the 2015 world championships got here down to 2 races — males’s large slalom and girls’s slalom — and Ted Ligety and Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t disappoint.

As soon as Ligety broke by way of on the Birds of Prey large slalom in 2010, not solely did he begin profitable, however he dominated. Ligety was as automated because it bought at Birds of Prey, virtually Hermann Maier automated.

Ted had gained 5 of six giant-slalom begins right here. Not solely was he profitable at Beaver Creek, however a few of these races have been over after the primary run. In 2010 and 2011, he gained by 0.82 and 0.69 seconds, substantial margins. By 2012, he crushed all comers by 1.76 seconds.

For 2013, Ligety gained by 1.32 ticks, forward of Bode Miller, who was having what he’d like to recollect as Birds of Prey finale. Bode’s precise closing run down Birds of Prey got here within the 2015 worlds super-G, when he had an enormous yard sale on Golden Eagle. Within the course of he tore tendons in his hamtring, an damage that lastly meant retirement.

Because the 2015 worlds approached, Ligety’s maintain on large slalom at Birds of Prey was slipping. Ligety gained the costume rehearsal for worlds with one other GS win at Beaver Creek in December 2014, however he needed to come from behind after the primary run, finally catching France’s Alexis Pinturault and Austia’s Marcel Hirscher.

Ted made it much more thrilling at Worlds. He was fifth after the morning run, 0.24 seconds behind archrival Hirscher. The assembled throng at Purple Tail bellowed when Ligety left the beginning home, as if it may really prod him to ski quicker.

As Ligety began passing intervals within the inexperienced, indicating that he had surged into the lead, the followers shook. When he got here throughout the road in inexperienced numbers, that means he had taken the lead, all exploded.

Then all held their breath as Pinturault, Germany’s Felix Neureuther, Italy’s Roberto Nani and Hirscher got here down the hill. When Hirscher completed up 0.45 seconds off the tempo, the occasion started.

“I positively haven’t been snowboarding as nicely this 12 months as I’ve in years previous. Getting my butt handed to me by this man on a regular basis wasn’t that gratifying,” Ligety mentioned within the post-race press convention, indicating Hirscher sitting subsequent to him. “It’s good to have the ability to go house and hit the reset button. It’s good to get that feeling again … just a little of my previous self.”

On reflection, it was the start of the tip for Ligety. The Park Metropolis, Utah, native gained in Soelden, Austria, in October 2015 for what stays his final win. Accidents and Father Time have plagued him since.

Nonetheless, Ligety is without doubt one of the legends of the course with Hermann Maier, Aksel Lund Svindal and Hirscher. Our wager is that every time Ligety retires, Birds of Prey, because it did with Miller and Daron Rahlves, will title a portion of the course for him. We nominate “Ligety’s Left.”