Glenwood Springs skier Cooper Cornelius navigates the U.S. Alpine Championship course on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at Aspen Highlands. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
After missing all of last season due to injury, Cooper Cornelius is still rounding back into form. But the Glenwood Springs ski racer put down some of his best runs of the season Wednesday, finishing just off the podium in the men’s combined at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Aspen Highlands.
“I feel great about today. It’s my best result so far in this series. I know I’m skiing well,” Cornelius told The Aspen Times. “It’s just a lack of consistency sometimes from top to bottom. I honestly thought my better run of the day was going to be in super-G, just because that’s been a stronger event all year for me. But it was a really nice surprise to throw down a slalom run and move up a few places.”
Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Aspen local Bridger Gile bounced back from a tough start at the U.S. Alpine Championships by finding his way onto the podium Tuesday in the men’s giant slalom at Aspen Highlands.
The 21-year-old, who is a member of the U.S. B team, led after the first run on a day when conditions were again less than ideal. Warm, spring weather again wreaked havoc, this time with gusty, snow-drying winds added into the mix.
“The course was pretty long … I’d say I’m pretty beat from the season in general. At least it’s warm weather, so that’s nice and makes it easier to be outside,” Gile said. “But, it makes the snow softer … they did their best to keep it as hard as they could, but it’s pretty hot out and I think that makes the course more tiring, as well.”
Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times
Vermont’s Ben Ritchie was among the few to navigate a tricky course in a warm beginning to the U.S. Alpine Championships on Monday, winning the men’s slalom at Aspen Highlands.
The sunny, spring conditions forced race organizers to move up the start to 7:30 a.m. Only 23 racers officially finished, with 33 recording DNFs did not finish on the first run alone. Among those were notable names such as Vail’s River Radamus and Steamboat’s Jett Seymour.
Still, Ritchie chimed in that the course held up better than expected. For him, at least.
April 6, 2021
Denver University’s Tobias Kogler, first, University of Utah’s Joachim Bakken Lien, second, and U.S. Ski Team athlete Bridger Gile, third. Photo: Steven Kornreich/U.S. Ski Team.
On day two of the U.S. Alpine Championships at Aspen Highlands, it was an international giant slalom podium, with Denver University’s Tobias Kogler (Austria) in first, University of Utah’s Joachim Bakken Lien (Norway) in second, and U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Bridger Gile in third.
It was another early morning for the athletes, staff, and race organizers, and the conditions were challenging, according to a U.S. Ski Team report. Though the temperatures were cooler than on Monday, the wind caused a problem and took the moisture out of the snow, causing issues for the salt to do its job and firm up the surface.
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