Men's Slalom
The men's World Cup season ended in Bormio with Norwegian honors as Ole Christian Furuseth won the last slalom, Kjetil Aamodt won the season's slalom World Cup title, and Finn Christian Jagge, retiring after this season, won the sympathy of the large crowd in the greatest moment during this week's finals.

	Furuseth

In his eighth World Cup victory, 33-year-old Furuseth was somehow expected to win since he excelled here in the last finals in 1995. He has been a top contender since the beginning of the year, skiing among the top-4 six times since early January.

Kjetil Aamodt's triumph — his fourth World Cup title — was not a surprise, either. Even though he suffered from lower back pain (he had to skip the giant slalom on Saturday because of the pain, and he could hardly walk the morning of the final race), he has proved for a long time how tough and determined he can be. Two solid runs assured him a fine 6th place and the No. 1 spot in the season's slalom standings.

Hans-Petter Buraas's fourth place, his best result of the season, was also an impressive milestone for the Norwegians. But the biggest Norwegian superstar at this last men's event of the 1999-2000 season was Finn Christian Jagge, 1992 Olympic slalom champion, known as "Finke" to his friends.

"I'm happy not to be racing now — it seems really tough..." — Ingemar Stenmark

Jagge, who competed in Bormio during the 1985 World Championships, decided a few days ago it was time for him to turn the page and retire from his World Cup ski racing career.

"I think this is the best place to leave ski racing — I was here in 1985 and I have won four times in Italy," said Jagge. "I want to do other things now after having traveled for years around the world. It has been great and I will stay in touch with my friends. I'm organizing my own invitational race in Oslo each spring — the Finke Cup — to help raise money for sick children. I have many projects in mind."

At the bib draw held the night before the race, Jagge wore an elegant suit and tie to announce his decision to quit the tour. After finishing 19th in the first run today, Jagge went back to the hotel to change into formal attire for his second run — it was showtime.

Not only did he ski the last run of his ski racing career in a tuxedo, but he also took off his skis to cross the finish line and start a new chapter of his life. The public was delighted and offered him a standing ovation. The scene got even better when Alberto Tomba cruised through the gates of that second run at the end of the competition to come to congratulate Jagge and his other former colleagues.

	Jagge

Jagge's run was one of the biggest moments during this final week in Bormio — a week that was dominated by the powerful Austrian racing machine — a team which has dominated six consecutive races this season from Kranjska Gora to Bormio.

Kjetil Aamodt, who started the season far behind in the standings, is more than satisfied after winning this year's World Cup slalom title. After winning the super G, the giant slalom, and the Overall World Cup standings in both 1993 and 1994, Aamodt increased his collection of Crystal Cups with this unexpected slalom trophy — a milestone in his career after some tough years.

"Since 1994 I have only won a few races and some combined events, but now I'm back in business with this new title," Aamodt said. "I still like to compete in all events. Maybe I should focus on fewer specialties in future — downhill for instance. I still aim for a gold medal in downhill — the last one that I'm missing now. I'll check with Lasse Kjus on what we could do to beat these Austrians in the future."

Ole Christian Furuseth was all fired up during his second run after losing fractions of a second on Raich in the first leg. After accumulating a series of great results in recent slalom races, Furuseth felt he had nothing to loose.

"To end the season on a victory is the best scenario because it gives you momentum for the following training camps," he explained. "I felt ready for a great race — but it's not my last one."

Not far from the finish line was another ski legend, Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark, who won 86 World Cup races in his career (1974 to 1989).

"I'm happy not to be racing now — it seems really tough," Stenmark said. He also smiled when asked about the evolution of modern ski racing. "If you remember, my GS skis were much shorter than the other models and I was the first to introduce carved skis in racing."

Benjamin Raich, who was said to be as talented as Stenmark after he won three races in two weeks last winter, wanted to win this slalom in order to become the only technical skier to win both giant slalom and slalom two seasons in a row – and to win the 900 Ducati Monster bike awarded by Infostrada to the skier having scored the most points during the week.

Renate Goetschl won the women's Ducati, and Raich tied with teammate Hermann Maier for the men's bike. (Maier was still sleeping in the middle of the day, recovering from the wild night of celebration in a local disco, the King's Club, with several beauties. After his fantastic season, The Herminator deserved a few drinks and a fun evening — and apparently no damage was done to the place.)

The World Cup tour will now rest until next season, but the top skiers will meet again at the end of April, at the Vatican, where they will be blessed by Pope John Paul II. The winners of the World Cup races from Bormio, Santa Caterina and Livigno will present him with a special trophy — just another great moment in this new millennium of alpine ski racing.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com European Correspondent