Press Center
For Immediate Release
December 10, 2008
Media Contact:
John Dakin
(970) 949-1999
2008 AUDI BIRDS OF PREY RACE COVERAGE TO AIR ON VERSUS DECEMBER 13, 14 AND 20
BEAVER CREEK, Colorado—For those who missed last week’s World Cup action in Beaver Creek or perhaps just didn’t get enough ski racing, Versus, formerly OLN, will air coverage of the Audi Birds of Prey World Cup Race Week on Saturday and Sunday, December 13-14, with additional shows on Saturday, December 20.
The action will get underway December 13 at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (4 p.m. MST) with an hour-long show on the first half of the Downhill competition. The second half of the show will air December 14 at 4 p.m. Eastern time (2 p.m. Mountain).
Viewers can relive Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal’s dramatic and emotional comeback victory on the same Birds of Prey course that ended his season one year ago. The Downhill show will chronicle not only Svindal’s win, but will also follow the dynamic run of runner-up Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein and American Steven Nyman’s seventh place finish, not to mention Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht’s spectacular spills.
“Downhill day was so dramatic from so many different perspectives,” explained Michael Imhof, Vice President of Sales and Operations for the Vail Valley Foundation. “To see Svindal not only back racing, but to have him win on Birds of Prey was a very special moment. His is an incredible comeback story that will appeal to anyone who loves competition and athletic endeavor.”
Televised race action will continue on Saturday, December 20, with back-to-back airings of the Super-G and Giant Slalom races. The Super-G show will get things started at 5 p.m. Eastern (3 p.m. Mountain), while the Giant Slalom will bring down the curtain on the 2008 Audi Birds of Prey at 6 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Mountain).
Svindal will once again take center stage, courtesy of his second win in Super-G, along with the return of Austrian veteran Hermann Maier to the podium with his runner-up showing. The weekend will come to a dynamic end as Austrian Benjamin Raich edges American Ted Ligety by a mere one one-hundredth of a second to claim the Giant Slalom crown, while Svindal earns his third Birds of Prey podium with a third place finish.
“It was truly an honor for me to head up the 2008 Audi Birds of Prey World Cup Race Week,” Imhof concluded, “and I look forward to reliving it on television the coming two weekends. All three races were filled with the kind of drama and emotion that make for great television.”
The 2008 Audi Schwab Birds of Prey World Cup Race Week is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation. For additional information on Birds of Prey, visit www.bcworldcup.com. For more information on the Foundation, contact (970) 949-1999 or visit www.vvf.org.
Click on the links below to attain materials for press access to the Birds of Prey:
2009 Credentials Form
Media Fact Sheet
Lodging Accomodations
Media FTP:
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