Ligety aims to challenge overall champion Hirscher (The Associated Press)
When the men’s Alpine skiing World Cup starts this weekend, Ted Ligety has his eyes on more than just his fourth straight win in the season-opening giant slalom. Defending champion Marcel Hirscher, who wants to become the first male skier to win the overall World Cup four seasons in a row, regards Ligety and Alexis Pinturault as his main challengers, with last year’s runner-up Aksel Lund Svindal out injured. ”From what I saw on Facebook, Ted is training downhill, super-G, slalom,” Hirscher said Friday, two days before the race on the Rettenbach glacier. ”If I keep the giant slalom going as it has been and get a little more consistent in super-G and slalom, maybe I have a chance,” he said.