Bennett adds to US success in Val Gardena with downhill win
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
SELVA DI VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — Bryce Bennett added to a long list of American success in Val Gardena by winning the first classic downhill of the World Cup season. Bennett joins teammate Steven Nyman (three downhill victories) and Bode Miller (one super-G victory) as American winners at the resort in the Dolomites. The 6-foot-7 Bennett finished 0.14 seconds ahead of Otmar Striedinger of Austria and 0.32 ahead of Niels Hintermann of Switzerland for his first career victory. Norwegian standout Aleksander Aamodt Kilde went off line toward the end of his run after posting faster split times than Bennett. Kilde narrowly avoided crashing but could not recover in time to clear the next gate.