Never look a gift horse in the mouth. So goes the old adage, but these were words to live by December 2-8, 2011 at Beaver Creek as the U.S. Ski Team took full advantage of the home field, not to mention three additional World Cup races that were added to the competition schedule.
Midway through what would prove to be the opening week of Birds of Prey, FIS officials, along with the Vail Valley Foundation, Vail Resorts and the U.S. Ski Team, announced that the snow-challenged World Cup events originally slated for Val d’Isere, France would find a new home in Beaver Creek. In the blink of an eye, the Audi Birds of Prey World Cup Race Week became plural.
Almost before the dust had settled on that announcement, American Bode Miller kicked up some of his own, leaving the rest of the world in his wake as he powered to victory in the Men’s Downhill, risking everything and evoking not so distant memories of his days of World Cup domination.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, Ted Ligety, the reigning Birds of Prey Giant Slalom champion, claimed a runner-up showing in the opening Giant Slalom before taking a measure of revenge over Austria’s Marcel Hirscher by putting together a text book second run in the transplanted GS to notch the win.
And then it was the ladies’ turn to shine. Running on Birds of Prey for the first time, not to mention in front of family and friends, Vail’s Lindsey Vonn laid down a nerve-racked run of Super-G that was good enough for the victory. The win marked the first time in Vonn’s illustrious career that she has been victorious in a World Cup race in the U.S.
Finally, it was the slalom racers’ turn as the curtain came down on the 2011 Audi Birds of Prey. Croatian Ivica Kostelic put an end to his cursed history on Birds of Prey while young Nolan Kasper battled a stomach virus to just miss the podium in fourth position.
Other Birds of Prey champions included Switzerland’s Sandro Viletta’s surprise victory in Super-G and Hirscher’s Giant Slalom win.
The race fans also turned out in record numbers, causing many to surmise that Downhill Day was perhaps the largest crowd since the 1999 World Championships, while a number of school children and local employees took an official sick day in order to see Vonn and the rest of the ladies of the World Cup compete on Birds of Prey for the first time.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone in the community that played a role in not only bringing the best in the world to Beaver Creek, but in producing Birds of Prey…The Sequel. It was two weeks of tremendous racing that we won’t soon forget.
For a behind the scenes look at the Audi Birds of Prey check out the Blog.
Check out the Talon Crew blog here.
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