At the mellow old age of 33, evergreen Norseman Lasse Kjus (with an already impressive list of accomplishments to his name) is leaving the rest of the pack behind again! And all Bode Miller, Eberarther, and even the Herminator can do is watch in crestfallen awe, and smile as the hopes for their own future rise at the sight of a champion still hungry for victory with as many as 16 World Cup and Olympic medals strung around his neck.
A second place finish in the downhill race at Chamonix and a third place time on the same slope in the Combined race brought him to 581 points and the top of the World Cup Absolute Ranking.
Meanwhile….our other White Circus hero was not just sitting on his hands: 3 slalom races run with 2 winner\'s stand placings taken. More than enough for anyone, no?. Not Giorgio Rocca. He wanted a first place finish and got it on the slopes of Chamonix above in a slalom race rendered all the more difficult by the extremely soft snow less suited to powerful athletes like Giorgio. And yet the champ from Livigno flashed through gate after gate of a track so many Italians had won before and came in first of all. The win gave him back the “red chest patch” worn only by the current World Cup Slalom Racing Leader” We hadn\'t seen a male Italian skier wearing red since Alberto Tomba!
Tomba the Bomba, Great Giorgio!
We\'ll hold our breath and wait. Then ring our cowbells loud as Lasse Kjus, Giorgio Rocca and all the other racers go flying past on the Swiss slopes of Wengen this coming January 16 to 18.