ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — A downhill race in Aspen, Colorado, was canceled Friday after 24 racers due to the deteriorating weather conditions and with Adrian Smiseth Sejersted of Norway in line for his first World Cup win.
Sejersted set the tone on a day that started out sunny, grew breezy and saw a snow storm roll in that decreased visibility. He finished in a time of 1 minute, 31.24 seconds — a time no one could catch. Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria was 0.26 seconds back in second and American Ryan Cochran-Siegle in third when the race was halted.
The race needed to get through 30 competitors to become official.
Wearing bib No. 25, Adrien Theaux of France was in the starting area when the race was called. There were several race interruptions as the snow picked up intensity and due to the low visibility.
U.S. racer Travis Ganong, who announced he was retiring after the season, had trouble with the tricky conditions. He missed a gate and didn’t finish his run. Cameron Alexander of Canada was slated to be the 17th racer on the course, but didn’t start.
Sejersted sat in the leader’s box hoping they would make it through 30 racers. When the competition was called off, he just looked dejected as teammate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde consoled him. Cochran-Siegle offered comfort, too.
Sejersted has two podium finishes in World Cup races over his career. Both were in the super-G in 2020.
There will be another downhill race on Saturday in Aspen, followed by a super-G on Sunday.
___
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/skiing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
