Ivica Kostelic Falls

[Jane]

Raich storms to victory


Raich produced a fine second run to claim victory
Benjamin Raich regained top spot in the World Cup standings after winning a dramatic floodlit slalom on Tuesday.
The Austrian won with a combined time of one minute 41.67 seconds.

World champion Ivica Kostelic, lying second after the first run, crashed on his second run and was carried off the slope on a stretcher.

The 24-year-old requires surgery after tearing the cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.


American Bode Miller had led by nearly a second after the first run but could only manage fourth place following the lengthy delay as Kostelic was treated.

The turnaround in fortunes left his coaching team fuming.

"We called for slippers and they didn't come," United States coach Phil McNichol said.

"They showed up and slipped just the gates around where Kostelic was lying."

However, despite having to cope with running on fresh snow and clocking one of the slowest second runs of the day, Miller preferred to keep things in perspective.

This is the best day of my season - absolutely divine

Benjamin Raich
"The second run with that hold, it was just a bad break," he said. "The guys that finished in front of me did great runs.

"If he [Kostelic] gets hurt, they need to take as much time as they can to keep him safe. He deserves that as a racer. That's just part of the sport."

Kostelic, who also cut his shoulder, will go under the knife in Basel on Wednesday.

The Croat had surgery to remove a piece of cartilage from his troublesome right knee last month, but was back in action less than three weeks later when he competed in a giant slalom in Flachau.

Italian Manfred Moelgg was second with 1:42.24 and Finland's Kalle Palander was third in 1:42.25, while Britain's Alain Baxter was disqualified on the first run.

Raich is the only skier to have won three times on the Planai, which is considered to be the most difficult slalom course on the World Cup circuit. He also won in 1999 and 2001.

"This is the best day of my season," said Raich, who takes over from Norway's Lasse Kjus as overall leader.

"It was a super race in front of a great crowd, it was absolutely divine."

[PhilS]

His season is over... I think he tore his ACL

[Mirko]

NAJBOLJI HRVATSKI SKIJAŠ PAO TIJEKOM DRUGE VOŽNJE NOÆNOG SLALOMA U SCHLADMINGU
Ivica Kosteliæ teško ozlijeðen

U bolnici u Shladmingu ustanovljeno da je Ivici pukao prednji križni ligament u desnome koljenu. Ivica još sinoæ automobilom prebaèen u kliniku Wernera Müllera u Basel. Pobjeda Raicha

Iz Schladminga Marko CVIJANOVIÆ

SCHLADMING – Ivica Kosteliæ teško je ozlijeðen tijekom noænoga, sedmoga slaloma sezone Svjetskoga kupa skijaša, voženog sinoæ u Schladmingu. Nakon pregleda u šladmingskoj bolnici ustanovljeno je da je Ivici pukao prednji križni ligament u desnome koljenu, što znaèi da je za njega ova sezona završena. Još sinoæ Ante Kosteliæ je ozlijeðenoga Ivicu automobilom prebacio u Basel u kliniku Wernera Müllera, lijeènika koji je obavio najsloženiju operaciju Janièina koljena 1999. godine. Još uvijek se sumnja i na ozljedu meniskusa istoga koljena, ali nešto više znat æe se nakon magnetske rezonance. U prvome trenutku nasluæivalo se da je Ivica pri padu ozlijedio i lijevo rame, ali sumnje su uskoro otklonjene. Najbolji hrvatski skijaš izletio je sa staze neposredno nakon prolaznoga vremena u drugoj vožnji i nezgodno pao na lijevi bok. Bolna grimasa na licu odmah je upuæivala da je rijeè o ozbiljnoj ozljedi, Ivièini jauci tijekom transporta do dežurne ambulantne u okviru olimpijske staze »Planai« potvrðivali su da je rijeè o težim ozljedama. Na žalost, crne very *friendly* personnje su se uskoro obistinile.



Šok i nevjerica


U taboru hrvatske reprezentacije u išèekivanju dijagnoze šok i nevjerica. Ivièin trener Vincencij Jovan praznoga pogleda, serviser Ivica Franjko na rubu suza.
– Gadno ga je bacilo, vidio sam odmah. I to baš na najstrmijem i najledenijem dijelu staze –
o je Frenki.
Na licima ispred ambulante na stazi zabrinuta lica hrvatskih navijaèa, koji su i ove sezone »potegli« do Schladminga da bi podržali još jedan slalomski nastup najboljega hrvatskoga skijaša. Nekako istodobno dok su kola hitne pomoæi s ozlijeðenim Ivicom i njegovim fizioterapeutom Radiæem kretala prema bolnici u Schladmingu spontano je krenula i pjesma okupljenih hrvatskih navijaèa »Ivek, mi te volimo«. Ne znamo je li èuo, ali podrška æe mu sigurno dobro doæi narednih mjeseci. Svaka èast i ostalim navijaèima podno staze »Planai«, koji su u nekoliko navrata dali podršku ozlijeðenome Ivici, dok su ga na nosilima spuštali strminom šladmingske staze. Ivica je tijekom ždrijebanja startnih brojeva, veèer uoèi utrke, otkrio jednu novost, koja dotad nije bila poznata hrvatskim novinarima.



Noæna mora


– Dao sam novi naziv stazi »Planai«, ja je zovem »Zmajeva usta«, zato što mi kad se spuštam prema cilju uistinu tako izgleda. Na žalost, Ivica ovaj put nije stigao do cilja. Noæni slalom u Schladmingu pretvorio se u noænu moru, »Zmajeva usta« su na žalost progutala još jednu sezonu.
Sedmi slalom sezone osvojio je na radost domaæih navijaèa Benjamin Raich, Amerikanac Bode Miller, koji je uoèi druge vožnje imao golemih 98 stotinki prednosti pred Ivicom Kosteliæem, a više od sekunde pred ostalim natjecateljima, završio je utrku tek na èetvrtom mjestu. Nije ni èudno, buduæi da se dvadesetak minuta smrzavao u startnoj kuæici dok se Ivici ukazivala prva pomoæ na stazi.

[MM]

Kakav peh, zao mije Ivice i Janice!

[Tom1]

It is possible that Ivica might not ski ever again (according to his Swiss doctor!). What a tragedy!