Tommy Moe Ties for Third, Vows ‘I’m Here to Stay’

Tommy Moe continued a downhill fight against the temptations of success when he finished tied for third in Wednesday’s downhill at the World Cup Finals.

It was the third consecutive top-three finish for Moe after he placed 55th and 20th at Aspen in the first two races after his Olympic downhill victory.

The post-Lillehammer letdown prompted suggestions Moe had perhaps put his career on cruise control.

But Moe, 24, vowed Wednesday, “I’m here to stay.”

Switzerland’s William Besse won the final World Cup downhill on the Vail course with a time of 1 minute 38.17 seconds, 0.17 seconds faster than runner-up Hannes Trinkl of Austria. Moe and Austria’s Patrick Ortlieb shared third with identical times of 1.38.66.

Luxembourg’s Marc Girardelli, with his seventh-place finish, held off a charging Trinkl to win the World Cup downhill title by 20 points. Moe, from Girdwood, Alaska, is so committed to not being considered a fluke that he has declined all endorsement offers since winning Olympic gold.

Aspen set him straight.

“I was almost kind of embarrassed the way I skied,” Moe said.

Since Aspen, Moe has placed third in two downhills and won his first-ever World Cup, a super-G at Whistler, Canada.