Ligety finds a new way to win – by sponsoring his rivals

SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA, Italy, Dec 30, (AP): Slowed by injuries, Ted Ligety is finding a new way to win. By sponsoring some of his biggest rivals. Ten years after founding Shred - the ski helmet, eyewear and accessory company known for its 1980s-style fluorescent colors and designs — Ligety has been watching as a proud spectator lately.

“Good to see my company winning while I’m on the sideline,” Ligety wrote on Instagram when Shred athletes Cyprien Sarrazin and Carlo Janka faced off in the final of a World Cup parallel giant slalom earlier this month in Alta Badia.

Bothered by an aching back, Ligety — the Olympic and two-time world champion in giant slalom — sat out the parallel race.

In all, Shred athletes have won eight races this season. Swiss standout Lara Gut and French ace Alexis Pinturault have three each while two more Frenchmen, Mathieu Faivre and Sarrazin, have one each.

Former overall World Cup champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland also wears Shred, as do a number of rising American racers — plus snowboarders and freestyle skiers.

“It’s cool to see a lot of my biggest competitors on the product,” Ligety said in an interview.

While Ligety has set the golden standard, he’s just one of many U.S. Ski Team athletes who have started entrepreneurial ventures.

Last year, Bode Miller has become the coowner of the New York-based Bomber Ski brand.

After her Kiss My Tiara underwear moment, Julia Mancuso has moved on to Pure Golden Wellness, a health and fitness coaching initiative.

Steven Nyman and Fantasy Ski Racer.

his brother created

And a group of young racers led by Brennan Rubie recently got together to pose in a nude calendar called “Under the Suit: The Bodies of the Ski Team,” the sales of which are helping them fund their travel around Europe.

“This is a new experience for us. We’re running it ourselves, setting up the website and marketing it,” Rubie said. “We can grow as people and market ourselves and also grow as skiers.”

Along the same lines, Tommy Biesemeyer runs a fundraising event for the “B’’ team in Vail, Colorado, each November during training camp.