Team Palisades Tahoe skiers continued their strong start to the 2021-22 World Cup season, claiming another top-10 finish.

Travis Ganong led the U.S. team on Tuesday in Bormio, Italy, racing to a season-best eighth place in downhill.

“It’s so icy and so different from all of the downhills we’ve been on all season, so it’s like the first real test of the year in downhill,” said Ganong in an interview with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “It’s gnarly, it’s scary, it’s bumpy — people pulled out of the race because of the conditions…classic Bormio style.”

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Ganong, 33, also tested out a new pair of skis, with a new plate and a new binding, according to U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

“It was different, but in a good way,” he said. “After one run on them, I thought ‘OK, I know what to expect now,’ and it was the right choice, obviously, because I had a good feeling on the snow today and I felt like I could play with the hill, which is not easy to do in Bormio because most of the time you’re just playing catch-up and not in charge, and it’s a fight. The feeling I had today was more like I was in charge and I was able to play with the hill. In one section, particularly coming into the traverse … I totally changed my plan mid-turn and went dead-straight, threw the skis sideways for a sec and locked in.”

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Ganong’s finish marks the fourth time in his career he’s landed in the top-10 at Bormio. He finished Tuesday’s run with a time of 1 minute, 55.82 seconds.

“It was a really solid run,” Ganong added. “I’ve had a lot of good races here over the years.”

Italy’s Dominik Paris, 32, won the event with a time of 1:54.63.

Ganong would go on to finish 18th in Wednesday’s super-G event.

Fellow Team Palisades Tahoe skier Bryce Bennett, 29, was competing at Bormio as well and finished 38th in downhill and 46th in super-G. Bennett entered this week’s competition off the heels of winning his first World Cup event.

Bennett and Ganong will have a break in competition before returning to action in Wengen, Switzerland, for a pair of downhill events.

Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com