2019 Athlete of the Year: Ryan Cochran-Siegle

While the United States has yet to turn out a male equivalent of a Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn, Ryan Cochran-Siegle has been working his way up in the ranks.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Starksboro, VT

Anyone who is still asking “but what about the men’s alpine ski team?” hasn’t followed what Ryan Cochran-Siegle has been up to this past year. While the U.S. has yet to turn out a male equivalent of a Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn, Siegle has been working his way up the ranks. Siegle, who grew up racing at Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond under the tutelage of his mother, Olympic gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran, seemed to have put injuries behind him in 2019 and began clawing his way up the ladder in World Cup races.

A supremely skilled technical skier, Siegle scored 21st in the World Championships in giant slalom in spring of 2019. He kicked off this season with an 11th in giant slalom at Soelden, Austria’s World Cup and on Dec. 23, was 12th in the parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy.

But recently he’s been upping his game in speed events too. After posting the fastest training run at the Birds of Prey Beaver Creek downhill World Cup in early December, Siegle placed sixth in the finals—the top American, followed by Steve Nyman, in 12th. 

With teammates Ted Ligety and Tommy Ford also moving up the ranks, the men’s team may be poised to make a move this season. And Siegle will be right there. 

For more of our 2019 Vermont Sports Athletes of the Year, head here.

Featured Photo: Ryan Cochran-Siegle competes at the 2018-2019 U.S. Alpine Nationals. Photo by Jamie Walter