VAL D’ISERE, France (AP) – Ted Ligety couldn’t see his way to a fifth straight podium finish in World Cup giant slalom.

Battling changing snow and poor visibility, the U.S. skier finished 12th behind winner Carlo Janka of Switzerland on Saturday.

“It was so bumpy you just couldn’t see anything. You had to feel your way down,” Ligety said. “I was trying hard to go harder, but I just couldn’t allow myself to do that when it’s like that.”

Janka finished in a two-run time of 2 minutes, 22.73 seconds, beating Massimiliano Blardone of Italy by 0.20 seconds.

Ligety, the reigning World Cup giant slalom champion, also had trouble seeing.

“The first five guys or so had nice light condition,” Ligety said. “Then it continually got worse and worse until the very end when you were struggling to see it.”

Even so, U.S. men’s coach Sasha Rearick praised Ligety’s effort.

“Ted was attacking in the first run and made a mistake,” Rearick said. “His ski caught up in between the ice and the grippy, that made it a fantastic recovery. He should have gone out, but with his effort and determination to get down the bottom, he made it.”

American Bode Miller, the defending World Cup overall champion, also struggled to with the lighting and finished 24th after going wide on two gates and almost falling on the top section of the tough Bellevarde course.

“The course conditions were tough for everybody, and the changing light definitely played a factor,” he said.

Vonn DQ’d in attempt to win 5th discipline

LA MOLINA, Spain – Lindsey Vonn was disqualified for running off the course and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won the giant slalom on Saturday, overtaking the American in the overall standings.

Vonn will have to wait in her bid to become only the fifth female skier to win events in all five disciplines.

“There was a big roller there and that just saw me go off with a little too much direction, and I just couldn’t get it back to the gate,” Vonn said. “The course was much more aggressive than it originally looked.”

Julia Mancuso of the United States finished 18th in the first women’s World Cup event held in the Spanish Pyrenees.

Poutiainen won her eighth World Cup race, edging Manuela Moelgg of Italy by 0.02 seconds. Poutiainen had the fastest second run down the Cerdanya Catalunya course for a combined time of 2:16.76.

Leader Kathrin Zettel of Austria fell on her second run after catching an edge.

“For sure I wouldn’t like to win like this, that someone who goes out who is leading,” Poutiainen said. “But this is alpine skiing and you make mistakes. A victory is victory.”

Poutiainen stayed top of the overall giant slalom standings with 260 points and overtook Vonn in the overall race with 360 points.

– two better than Vonn, the defending overall champion.

“It’s amazing, the red bib is the red bib and it’s not easy for sure,” Poutiainen said. “I just focus race to race, there are still a lot of races to go.”

Moelgg was denied her first World Cup victory. Nicole Hosp of Austria finished third in 2:17.41 for her 45th World Cup podium.

Poutiainen said the changing light made navigating the 0.62-mile course difficult, especially at the turn into the steep section. Zettel, Anja Paerson of Sweden and 2007 giant slalom champion Denise Karbon of Italy all crashed at that spot.

“Especially in the morning it was really difficult visibility which makes it very challenging, which is what I like,” she said. “This is World Cup, it shouldn’t be easy.”

Before the fall, Zettel was on course for her fourth victory in giant slalom and second of the season after winning at Soelden.

Vonn will go for her second slalom victory on Sunday.