Women's Giant Slalom A Good Test Run For Beaver Creek Before 2015
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (CBS4) - While the Denver Broncos were on the road another major sporting event took place in Colorado -- women's ski racing at Beaver Creek.
"It was so fun to race at home," Vail native Mikaela Shiffrin said.
Shiffrin finished second in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Giant Slalom. It was Mikaela Shiffrin's first time ever making a podium in the giant slalom.
"You know that there's something going on and it's like, 'Oh yeah, this is what's going on. I'm about to put on a show for everyone, so let's make it worthwhile,' " she said.
She only lost by 2/100ths of a second -- a grand finale for the first race week on the new women's course at Beaver Creek.
"We call it the test event. We knew we had to test the course out, but we're also testing out some of our functions that we'll be using for 2015," said Ceil Folz, Vail Valley Foundation President.
The Raptor Race this holiday weekend was building up to the massive two weeks in February of 2015 when Beaver Creek hosts the world championships.
"A fantastic experience, this is great training and preparation for the 2015 world championships," Shiffrin's brother Taylor Shiffrin said.
It's expected to bring thousands of people and millions of dollars to the state's economy.
Event organizers say this weekend was perfect to iron out any issues and get ready for the world's stage.
"Insanity; it's going to be epic here, it's going to be incredible. Just like going to a Broncos game. It's going to be amazing," Taylor Shiffrin said.
